


Fox in the Bunnyhouse

by BookWorm07



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Baby, F/M, Fluff, Judy thought she knew what she was doing, she doesn't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-29 01:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 56,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11430660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookWorm07/pseuds/BookWorm07
Summary: Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I finally decided to write it down. In this AU the Night Howler case doesn't happen until much later on; same with Judy's meeting with Nick. Hope you enjoy being inside my head for a bit.   
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all it's characters belong to Disney (sigh)  
> This fanwork and any of my OC's belong to me (Muhahahaha)

Judy’s feet dragged as she left her tiny apartment at the Grand Pangolin Arms that morning, heading on her way to the precinct. It was fair to say, life wasn’t going as she’d hoped. It was going nowhere near where she had carefully planned out for herself. In the exact opposite direction, really. For the last month and a half, since the very first day since she had joined Precinct One, Judy had been assigned parking duty. Any chance she had been given to prove herself as an equal officer had been quickly and harshly shut down by the Police Chief and Judy had had it up to her ears with it.

Her indignant anger at her situation had faded from her almost as fast as a donut going down Clawhauser’s gullet, though. Instead, for the last week, she had been feeling nothing but resignation and a deep-rooted sadness. This was her dream, her passion in life, and no one seemed to care. More than that, she had dedicated her life to being an officer. She had memorized the ZPD handbook like the back of her hand and trained thrice as hard as any of the other cadets just to make the bare requirements. But Judy had pulled through. Graduated top of her class and been assigned to the highest ranked precinct in Zootopia. 

It wasn’t enough. Nothing was ever enough. All anyone ever saw when they looked at her was a naïve, cute, dumb bunny. And it was beginning to seem that that was all anyone was ever going to see. Judy swore that the commute to the precinct took longer each day and she was sure that each day she was passed over in the bull pen, her ears drooped impossibly lower. 

Clawhauser waved at her, half eaten donut in hand, as the front doors swished behind her. Judy just gave a small nod of her head as she passed him, whispering a small hello, and continued on to the looming doors of the bull pen. 

Everything was the same as it always was; officers testing each others strength and shouting good natured insults at each other. As Judy clambered onto the empty seat at the front of the room, McHorn rolled his eyes at her daily struggle. 

Once settled, she stared vacantly at the front podium, trying to push the voices of her parents out of her head. They still called her every night, worried about her being alone in the city. And, without fail, every night they would somehow mange to bring up the topic of her coming back home. Judy’s steeled resolve to remain in the city had substantially weakened everyday she was unable to help mammals the way she wanted to; everyday she was deemed incapable of helping mammals the way she wanted to.

Judy was drawn from her musings when chief Bogo entered the bull pen and the mammals around her began to grunt in his arrival. 

“Alright, alright”, the chief placated. 

When the chanting didn’t stop, he asserted, “Shut it!”

The room quickly fell silent as the Bogo slipped his reading glasses onto the bridge of his nose, shuffling around a few red folders containing the day’s assignments.

“Okay, we’ve got three items on the docket this morning. Everyone who does not receive an assignment will continue with their normal patrols.” 

When the chief finished listing off the new agenda’s, Judy wasn’t surprised in the slightest that she wasn’t called upon. Chairs scraping against the old aluminum tiles filled the air as officers began to file into the hallway to begin their day. It took a moment, but Judy slowly began to lower herself to the ground as well, ready to head to the locker room where her meter maid vest and hat awaited her.

“Hold it, Hopps”

The chiefs gruff voice had Judy freezing halfway to the door. She turned slowly, not daring to hope that Bogo might actually be giving her an actual patrol.

“Yes?”, her voice was too high pitched. Her ears burned as she cleared her throat and repeated her inquiry. 

“Don’t get too excited, Hopps. The mayor has been a rather annoying thorn in my hide for the last few weeks. Constantly asking why the first gradate of his ‘Mammal Inclusion Initiative’ is getting such bad reception because all she’s doing is pissing taxing paying mammals off with her high ticket count.” Judy tried not to flinch at his raised brow. She wouldn’t be getting all this negative attention if she was allowed to actually be helpful.

“Sir?” Judy questioned where he was heading.

Bogo let out a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Early this morning”, he started “we got in a call about a noise complaint. I am giving you this chance to do something other than parking duty only by the good grace of the mayor. One chance, Hopps. You screw this up and that meter maid vest is never leaving your person again. You don’t screw up and then we’ll talk about other small assignments you might be able to do. Do you understand?”

Judy was speechless for her part. It may not be what she wanted but it was a hell of a lot better than where she was at right now. She need to speak. She needed to answer him. Now.

“I, um, yes? I mean, yes, sir! I understand. Thank you, sir!” 

That last bit came out a bit desperate but she didn’t really care at the moment. This was it! Her big break. She was finally going to be able to help people. Her dream was starting to come back on track. 

***

The tips of Judy’s ears were all Clawhauser saw when he looked up from his bowl of Lucky Chomps cereal.

“Down here!” Judy’s voice called from below the sight line of the front desk.

Carefully placing the bowl of sugary goodness on his desk and pushing it to the side, Clawhauser got up from his chair and leaned as much of the top half of his body as he could over the desk. Judy greeted him with a small wave and the largest smile he’d seen on her face since her first day at Precinct One. He couldn’t help the smile that stretched his own lips at the sight. He was probably the only friend she had at the station and that was saying something, considering he’d been hard pressed to get more than a greeting from her at any one moment. 

Trying to contain his smile before it completely overtook his face, he returned her greeting, “Hey there, Judy! What’s up? Have you heard the new Gazelle single that just dropped? How’ve you been? Do you think they’ll be having a concert in Zootopia soon? Were you just heading out to grab the meter maid car?”

He suddenly gasped, and brought his paws up to cover his muzzle. “I am so sorry! I know how much you hate being a meter maid. I shouldn’t have brought it up, and you were so happy to!”

Before Clawhauser could talk himself into a panic attack, Judy placatingly held up her paws.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, Bogo said that he would actually let me take on an assignment today! Well, not a huge one. It’s the call you got in this morning? About the noise complaint. The chief said to see you for everything I’ll need.”

If possible, Clawhauser’s smile got even wider than it was before.

“Yes, absolutely, of course!” He sat back down in his chair before frantically scrabbling through the scattered paper and rainbow sprinkles decorating his desk. After a minute, he withdrew a single piece of paper and turned around to face her again.

“Here you are, Judy. One noise complaint. I gotta tell ya, I’m really happy for you. I know you’re going to do amazing.”

Judy smiled lightly at him in gratitude as she came around the desk to read over the report with him. It was short, with very little information to go off of, but she refused to let that deter her. How much could there really be to a basic noise complaint?

The sound of Clawhauser choking on his spoon brought her back to the present. Giving him a worried look, Judy gently pat his back and asked if he was alright. Once over his coughing fit, Clawhauser looked at her with wide eyes.

“Judy, the noise complaint came from Happy Town.”

Being the way her career was, Judy hadn’t gone out to explore the city much in the last month and a half. She hadn’t every really wanted too. As much as she hated to admit it, rabbits were generally more in tune with their emotions than other mammals, which was part of the reason mammals didn’t take them seriously. Being emotional was often seen as weakness in a professional setting, causing rabbits to struggle with other mammals for respect. And, while being more connected to their emotions did not hinder rabbits in any way professionally, Judy’s inner turmoil over her job caused her to temporarily loose that optimistic spark that was uniquely hers.

“What’s wrong with Happy Town?”

“There are a lot of things wrong with it Judy. The name is a bit of a misnomer; Happy Town was built with great prosperity in mind but that’s not what ended up happening. Its run down and crimes there aren’t uncommon. Its residence are mainly predators who have a bad rep or can’t afford anything in one of the city centers.” Still seeing confusion on Judy’s face, he continued, “The thing is, people don’t tend to call in crimes that happen in Happy Town. Not unless it’s a shooting; certainly not something as common as loud noises. This one just doesn’t seem right, Judy”

Judy bit her lower lip in thought. Based on what Clawhauser was saying, a noise complaint did seem strange but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. This was the first police action she’d seen since the start of her career at Precinct One and she wasn’t going to through it away. If she did, she was certain that Bogo would have her on meter maid duty until she retired, was fired, or quit once it became painfully clear she would not be getting her dream.

Judy finally let go of her lower lip and raised her head to give Clawhauser her signature determined look.

“I appreciate the information, but this is my assignment and I’ll be damned if I don’t fulfil it.”

***

As the precinct had no vehicles that could accommodate her size, and Judy wasn’t about to take the meter maid cart, she was stuck riding the subway. Looking up the quickest route to her destination, she was startled to realize that the city buses didn’t go into Happy Town. The closest they came was the edge of the boarder before promptly turning back around. 

Stepping off the bus, Judy held her phone in her paw as she figured out which direction she needed to take first. Amethyst eyes flicking up and down the street, she finally recognized one of the landmarks shed noted on the map earlier. Stuffing her phone in her pocket, she straightened her spine and moved down the street. 

Taking in the buildings around her, she was beginning to understand Clawhauser’s worry. It seemed like two thirds of the buildings had their windows boarded up, the grass looked dry and brown. The whole area seemed to lack colour and vibrancy; everything painted in drab, dull tones. After two wrong turns, Judy alighted upon a six-story building with bars on all the windows and sporting the address of the noise complaint. 

Stepping inside, she went to reach for the buzzer so that she could be let in the main part of the building, when she noticed that the glass door was slightly ajar. Pulling it open, Judy soon found that the door was unable to close properly anymore because someone had disfigured the metal door jamb. A small frown pulled a Judy’s lips at the realization and she shook her head. This wasn’t right. She hadn’t even known parts of the city like this existed but now that she did, she knew that she needed to do something about it.

After soon finding the one elevator to also be broken, Judy took to the stairs. Apartment 5B, the police report had said. Hopping the stairs two at a time, Judy soon stood in front of the door where the noise was said to be coming from. Give three firm knocks, Judy called out to the residents.

“This is the police. We have received a noise complaint coming from this apartment, please open the door so we can talk.”

Judy waited for a reply but none came. Raising her fist, she knocked again and was about to call out when her right ear twitched. Her hand paused in midair, about to come down for a third knock. Her head tilted involuntarily and her ear flicked toward the door.

The noise was muffled by the barrier, but Judy was a rabbit. A rabbit who came from a traditionally large family. She could recognize the sound of a kit crying in her sleep.

Judy’s heart stopped for a beat and then started to pound in her eardrums. That was the sound of a kit in distress, no one seemed to be answering her calls, and the noise was apparently loud enough to warrant a complaint this morning.

Still, just in case, Judy banged her first on the door, raising her voice as she asked someone to open it. She took a deep breath and straightened. This was a baby, she couldn’t wait for backup to arrive if it was possibly in danger at this moment. Calling out a warning this time, Judy readied herself to kick down the door.

It took four leaping kicks to finally knock the door away and she wasted no time in running into the apartment. The first thing Judy noticed was the smell. She couldn’t pin point what it was but decided to investigate later. At the moment, she swiveled her ears and used them to locate the location of the child.

Running toward what turned out to be a bedroom, Judy paused in the doorway, taking in a deep breath as she spotted the white wooden crib in the middle of the room. Paint had begun chipping off the bars and one of the legs remained level with the rest only by the well placement of a thick hardcover book. 

Walking slowly toward the crib, Judy peered over the side to see the kit hidden by a blanket, it squirming underneath as it cried. She cooed to the baby as her paw reached in and touched the well-worn fabric of the blanket, delicately pulling it back to reveal the source of the noise complaint. 

The baby was fast hidden beneath the fabric again when Judy’s paw released her hold on the wool. She stepped back, eyes wide, as she stared at the crib that housed a tiny, newborn, red fox kit with the bluest eyes Judy had ever seen.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me   
> Enjoy!

“Her name was Helen Foxgrove”, Chief Bogo debriefed her.

Judy stood before him, silent, her eyes staring unseeingly out the living room window where the red and blue flashing lights of two police vehicles, an ambulance, and a firetruck could be seen.

It hadn’t taken long for Judy’s police training to kick into high gear once her brain registered what she’d seen. Swiftly pulling the worn blanket off the crying kit so that it didn’t suffocate itself, she was a second away from scooping up the fox and trying to sooth its harsh cries, when she stopped. Once she had gotten the door open, Judy’s rabbit and cop instincts took her straight to the child in distress. She hadn’t had the chance to actually case the small apartment; she didn’t know if there was anyone else here. As much as Judy’s ingrained motherly instincts revolted at the idea of leaving the baby after who knows how long it had been crying like that, her cop training told her that if there was someone else in the apartment, and it got violent, the safest place for the baby would be where it currently was.

Quickly looking around the room she stood in, she hurried back into the living room. From what she could tell, the apartment only had five rooms: the living room, bathroom, kitchen, the kits room, wand what she guessed was a second bedroom. 

Wooden floors squeaking, Judy kept one hand in front of her while the other hovered over the can of Fox Away strapped to her belt. Other than the dripping kitchen faucet, nothing seemed to be seemed to be moving or making a sound.

Finally creeping upon the last door, the second bedroom, Judy took a hold of the knob, twisting slowly so as to not make any noise. The same smell Judy detected when she broke down the front door assaulted her again. This time, it only took her the few moments to locate the bed, to realize what it was. 

A female fox, slightly passed middle age, lay beneath the covers, looking for all the world like she was sleeping. Judy would have thought she was too, if not for the smell. Though not overpowering, it still infused the room, no air having been circulating with the door closed and the window locked. 

Though no where near as good as a canine, Judy’s sense of smell was better than most rabbits as she had to go through scent training in the academy with all the other recruits. Her mouth went dry as she recalled the class on decomposition. Simulated smells, at five different stages of decay, had been mandatory for her to learn so that she would be able to identify and estimate how long a mammal had been dead when calling it in. Judy had hopped she’d never need that lesson.

Feeling her stomach turn over, Judy slammed the door back into place before the sour bile climbing up the back of her throat could leave her mouth. Swallowing hard, Judy stalked back toward the first bedroom to call in the incident. By her nose, she would guess the elder fox hadn’t been dead more than twenty-four hours; a blessing considering the other occupant of the apartment. 

Her hand shook a little as she scrolled through her contacts, missing Clawhauser’s number twice before her paw landed on the right one. Ringing for several seconds, Judy took deep, calming breaths. Another skill she learned in the academy. She liked this one a lot more.

“Precinct One, front desk. This is officer Clawhauser speaking, how may I help you?”

“Clawhauser?” Judy’s voice was small to her own ears, almost unrecognizable.

“Judy? Are you okay? What’s wrong? I knew something was up, no one calls in a noise complaint from Happy Town. Don’t worry, just come back to the station and we’ll tell the chief what happened together.”

“Actually, the chief might want to come down here. The noise complaint was over a crying kit, Ben. And the only other mammal in the apartment is dead.”

She heard him gasp over the line, Clawhauser’s voice was more somber than she had ever heard it, “Judy, are trying to tell me that someone was murdered?”

“No, no. At least, it doesn’t appear to be a murder. It’s a woman, just past middle age. She’s in her bed; the only reason I could tell she wasn’t asleep was because of the smell.”

“Okay, just sit tight. I’m going to inform the chief, he should be down there in about half an hour. I’ll send for an ambulance too, that should be there sooner if a little kit needs immediate attention.”

“Thanks, Ben. I’ll see you when I get back to the precinct.”

After hanging up her phone, Judy’s eyes strayed down and locked with the kit’s. Its robin egg blue eyes were swimming with tears, its face scrunched up as at whimpered. Judy’s heart shattered into a million pieces. The poor thing had been alone and scared for hours, it was a miracle that the child hadn’t been at least unconscious from lack of care.

Judy had at least twenty minutes before an ambulance could get down here, even with the siren going. Quickly scooping up the kit, Judy moved to the corner of the room where a makeshift changing table was set up. 

Taking the kit out of the yellow onesie, she set to work. Other mammals may have recoiled at the sight and smell after the kit had been so long without a diaper change but you don’t live on a farm for most of your life without getting a little dirty. Judy also took this moment to finally place a gender to the baby. It was a little boy; a little red fox with robin egg blue eyes. 

He was small, Judy guessed him at about a month old. If he was bunny kit, she would have been able to tell you with confidence the exact number of weeks old he was. Growing up surrounded by rabbits and with hundreds of siblings, she had gotten to be a master at the art of identifying certain characteristics to tell one sibling apart from the next. Though there were only a few fox families that lived in Bunny Burrow, she saw enough to be pretty certain that from birth till the end of kithood, bunnies and foxes were roughly the same size. 

Judy finished cleaning him the best she could with water and soap, the kit having stopped crying but his nose still sniffling now and then. 

Clad in a brand new green onesie, Judy picked him up, bum under one arm with a grip on his legs, other hand at his back to keep him steady, and started toward the kitchen. Taking a bet, she went to the fridge first. It was common to have a couple bottles of milk ready made and stashed in the fridge for quick access if a kit got fussy. Expertly moving the kit to balance on one hip, Judy opened the fridge and internally fist bumped. Three milk bottles stood front and center on the top shelf. 

The fridge door swung behind Judy as her foot twisted to push it shut, a bottle cold in her paw. Pulling the cap off with her mouth, she held it between her teeth as she opened the microwave above the stove and popped it in for a few minutes. Removing the cap now, she set it on the round wooden table in the center of the room. Moving to cradle him in her arms when he began to fuss, Judy swayed slightly.

Checking that the milk wasn’t too hot after removing it from the microwave at the beep, she sat at one of the kitchen chairs, the fox in her lap, and brought the bottle nipple to his muzzle. The kit immediately latched on and began to guzzle the warm milk so fast Judy had to the bottle away a couple times to make sure he didn’t choke. And every time she did, he would look up at her with his wide blue eyes and give a sad whimper. It nearly broke Judy’s unbreakable resolve.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Judy told him indignantly, “I just saved you, I can’t have you die because you don’t have any patients.”

The betrayed look didn’t waver. 

“Yes, I know that you haven’t eaten all day but you need to pace yourself. Eating too much, too fast, on an empty stomach, will just make you sick.”

Judy didn’t think he much cared at the moment. Once the bottle was just over halfway gone though, and the kit began to slow his drinking, she left the bottle in. She shifted slightly as he drank, moving the kit so that his head rested on her chest so that he would be able to let her heart beat sooth him.

He had just finished the bottle when his eyes started to flag but before she could let him sleep, she grabbed the hand towel off the stove handle and placed it over her shoulder. Gently patting the kits back, she burped him and wiped his mouth clean. Judy hadn’t even made it back to the bedroom by the time he’d fallen asleep, most likely from bodily exhaustion. 

Five minutes later, Judy heard an ambulance siren coming full throttle down the street and she moved from the crib to the front door in order to greet the paramedics. 

***

Blinking, Judy turned away from the window and back to chief Bogo, who stood stooped in the tiny apartment.

“From what we have gathered she was the kits grandmother. We won’t know for sure how she died until an autopsy can be preformed but the paramedics initial assessment is that she had a heart attack.”

“A heart attack?” Judy questions, incredulous, “at fifty-six?”

“It’s been known to happen. It’s also not too uncommon for older mammals to pass away from heart break shortly after the death of a loved one.”

Judy knew that too. It hadn’t taken too much digging to find out who the other fox in the apartment was and that her daughter, Linda Foxgrove, had passed away about a month ago from childbirth; the legal documents had all been on her bedside table. A little more digging had unearthed a death certificate for one Sam Swiftfoot, dated for seven months ago. Apparently, he’d been hit by a car that had run a red while he was crossing the street. Bills for the lost court case for compensation were found with the death certificate. 

What wasn’t found with the other legal documents, was a birth certificate for the fox kit currently being seem to by the paramedics in his bedroom. After calling all local hospitals and searching for birth records, one of the uniformed officers who had accompanied Bogo, a white timber wolf, brought forth multiple books he’d found on proper and safe home birth. Inside the cover of one, was a birth certificate. 

Apparently the kits mother had wanted an all natural birth at home with her mother, but just after giving birth fell unconscious. Helen had called 911 immediately, but by the time the ambulance had arrived, Linda had passed away from internal bleeding. 

Left alone with a newborn kit, Helen looked to have done all she could to raise him alone and heart broken. And, for whatever reason she had, had left the birth certificate incomplete. The names of both his parents, as well as the time and date of birth were neatly scrawled in black pen. The section for the child’s name was glaringly empty.

“So what’s going to happen now, sir?”

He snorted, rubbing his temples with his hooves.

“A headache, that’s what’s going to happen now, Hopps. You had to complicate a noise complaint. Who complicates a noise complaint?” That last question was directed less at her as it was to the universe.

For Judy’s part, she was more than a bit exasperated and a little indignant at what the chief was insinuating.

“You can’t possibly think this is my fault.” she said, her voice incredulous, “Sir-”

He cut her off, “Yes, Hopps. I know you didn’t do anything to cause this. But it had to be you that got into this situation. This was supposed to be you chastising a bunch of rowdy teenagers and the mayor finally leaving me alone.”

Judy wanted to protest but knew better by know that to open her ‘tiny mouth’ against the chief in threat of having another act of ‘insubordination’ put on her permanent record.

“I’m going to step outside and call child services. Hopefully someone can come and take the fox sooner rather than later. In the meantime, check in with the paramedics. Make sure the kit doesn’t have anything wrong with him.” 

Without so much as a nod of his head, the chief lumbered out of the open apartment door, stooping even lower than he already was to clear the doorframe. 

Shaking her head, Judy moved toward the kits bedroom, peaking inside to find two antelope paramedics just finishing packing up their equipment. Standing a bit on tip toe, Judy looked around the medics to see, through the bars of the crib, two tiny red paws reaching into the air.

“Hey, there.” Judy greeted them. 

Looking up at the small rabbit in the police uniform, one of the antelopes left the other to finish packing and speak to her with a small gesture of his head.

“We just finish checking him. From what we can tell, he seems to be in pretty fair shape considering. It could have easily been a lot worse. We have some vitamins that we would like him to take three times a day to help recover from the lack of nutrients and dehydration.” He raised his hoof to gesture to a white plastic bottle sitting on the changing table, a wrapped syringe with increments printed along the side lay beside it.

Judy nodded her head. She’d be sure to pass along the instructions.

“Otherwise, there’s not much else for us to do. All his vitals are stable, his nose is wet, and his fur shiny. Now that the coroner has come and taken the body, we’re going to start heading out.”

“Okay, thank you so much for all your help.”

Judy watched them gather up their bags and leave the room before heading over to the crib. She looked down at the kit, his arms still reaching up toward the ceiling. Upon laying his eyes on Judy a large, toothless smile came over his face. Letting out a happy yip, he started waving his arms and kicking his legs, actively reaching out for her.

It was impossible to keep the smile that crept up her face away. She gave a little chuckle and reached down to pick up the kit, hugging him to her chest lightly. His arms wrapped around her neck and he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Her ear flicked up and to the door as she heard someone enter the apartment. She moved out of the bedroom to see Bogo, cellphone in hand and an irritated look on his face.

Going against her better sense, she called out to him, “Are child services coming, sir?”

The chief’s stormy glare turned full force on her and she winced. Closing his eyes, Bogo let out a deep sigh before opening them again. 

“No. They don’t have anyone available to come out here and take the kit until tomorrow afternoon. They said we can drop him off at their head office but by the time we get there, they’ll have closed for the day. That means that until the office opens back up at ten tomorrow morning, he’s under Precinct One’s charge.”

Judy blinked. Precinct One’s charge? What were they going to do with him? They had nowhere to properly house a newborn kit, no one to take care of him overnight. They couldn’t just throw him in lockup until morning.

She opened her mouth to convey her concerns to the chief but he held up his hoof to hold her off.

“I know we aren’t exactly adequately prepared to take on a fox kit for the night at the station. Someone is going to have to take him home and bring him over to the child services head office tomorrow.” 

He paused, “Which is probably going to be me.” He groaned as he finished his thought. 

Judy looked down at the kit curled up in her arms, he’d fallen asleep at one point yet he still clung to her neck. Her thoughts raced. Should she? Could she? She hadn’t exactly brought any baby supplies with her from Bunny Burrow. Her head jerked up as she looked back toward the kits bedroom. Everything he’d need was in there and she was sure the kitchen had packets of formula she could grab and bring with her.

Judy’s face got her signature determined look and chief Bogo knew that whatever was going to come out of her mouth next was somehow going to turn his current headache into a migraine. 

“No it won’t, sir, because I’m going to take him for the night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all of your comments and support. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember, your comments give me life and motivation.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and my OCs belong to me

It surprised Judy how easily Bogo caved to her request, though in hindsight it really shouldn’t have. The chief’s blatant belief in stereotypes had been hindering her since day one. More than that though, Judy could see it in his face that he didn’t have much love of foxes. She was almost positive that it was unconscious, but every time Bogo’s eyes landed on the fox kit, his face scrunched up in a slight grimace.

To be fair, Judy wasn’t one much to talk either. She had been raised in a conservative bunny farm town where the majority of the populace didn’t take too kindly to predators of any kind. Judy’s family in particular always warned her against foxes; talking of their wily ways and sharp teeth that used to dine on bunny cuisine. Pop-pop was by far the most vocal about his hatred of the “red devils”, claiming they got that red colour because they were made by the devil. And though her parents and siblings never said such unashamedly speciest things, Judy sometimes wondered if some of them might think the same way. The Hopps attitude towards foxes didn’t exactly get better after the Gideon Grey incident either.

Judy unconsciously brushed her paw against the three faint scar lines that adorned her cheek, feeling the raised flesh. Though her fur grew to cover the claw marks, Judy was constantly reminded of them when she brushed her fur every morning before work and every night before bed. Her father especially had always been skittish around foxes and having one of his kits be clawed by one is what caused him to start collecting anti-fox products.

Her eyes went to the little, unassuming, pink can at her waist. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing that she had forgotten to re-secure the strap. Judy’s paw quickly moved to clasp the button closed, and double checked to make sure the cans nozzle was twisted in the ‘off’ position. She didn’t want it to accidently go off with the kit around. A slight shiver went up her spine in imagined horror and guilt over such an occurrence. Her ears rang with the kits pained cries that would fill the air as the chemicals burned his blue eyes.

Judy had to close her own eyes at the thought. Though not completely unaffected by the Gideon incident, she had always tried to be unbiased in her actions. _The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself_ , she repeated in her mind.

This was a _baby_ though, an innocent little kit. Judy’s eyes flicked up to the crib with the sleeping fox kit from her kneeling position on the floor where she packed an overnight bag. A soft smile pulled at her lips as she watched him yawn, long pink tongue curling, before snuggling his muzzle into the woolen blanket.

Going back to her task, she surveyed what she had already packed. When Judy had gone into the drawers, she realised that there wasn’t much to choose from and had a feeling that his late grandmother must have been at the end of her rope financially. Instead of having to come back for the rest of his personal artifacts tomorrow, Judy decided that she’d just pack it all in one large duffle to bring with him to child services in the morning. There were three sets of pajamas, three pairs of pants, and four shirts. As hard as she looked, Judy couldn’t find anything in ways of bibs, extra blankets, or outdoor clothing for the colder regions of the city. There was no pacifier, which Judy supposed had the benefit of not having to ween the kit off it, and no toys or stuffed animals.

It was hard for Judy to imagine as she had been one of those kits that took her favourite stuffed bunny everywhere with her, later being switched out with her police hat when she was slightly older. However, she had a few siblings that latched onto blankets instead of a toy when they were small, which she assumed was the same with the fox kit.

Getting up and making her way over to the changing table, Judy counted out thirty diapers stacked to the side. Hefting the pile up in her paws, chin resting on the top of the heap, she figured she would just take them all and bring the rest to the agency tomorrow. Pushing the diapers to one side of the bag, she had just enough room to place the half tin of powdered baby formula and two pre-made bottles.

Satisfied, Judy zipped up the bag and placed her fists on her hips, nodding her head in accomplishment. Swinging the shoulder strap up and over her head, she rested the slightly bulging bag on her side and then went over to the crib.

Two, tiny, brown gloved paws were fisted above his head as soft breaths escaped his muzzle. It took all Judy had not to let her own paw reach up to clutch at her heart at the sight. Her main goal in life might not have been to have her own warren of a couple hundred kits like most other bunny girls her age but she still had that motherly instinct ingrained within her and a cute kit was a cute kit, whatever way you looked at it.

Leaning over the railing, she slowly moved her paws underneath the fox, one supporting his head, the other, his lower back. Gently picking him up so as to not wake him, she cradled the baby against her chest as she left the bedroom and headed to the front door. Bogo had left her alone just over an hour ago, the police and medical examiners having got everything they needed.

Sweeping her eyes one last time over the apartment, Judy went to lock the door behind her but remembered that she had broken the lock when she kicked down the door, and so just firmly shut it and hoped no one would try to enter. Though there wasn’t much to take and no family that the possessions would be going to, it was a matter of principle.

By the time Judy reached the bus stop at the edge of Happy Town, the sun was starting to set and she clutched the child closer to her as the breeze picked up. Thankfully the bus didn’t take long to arrive and Judy felt herself beginning to relax for the first time today as she settled into a seat on the subway, resting her eyes. The pleasant hum of the train didn’t last long though. Not two minutes after she sat down, her ears pricked at the sound of a whispered conversation not ten feet down the subway car.

“Is that a _fox_ the bunny is holding?” the voice was female and sounded slightly older.

“It has to be, with that bright red fur and long tail” another woman.

“What in the world is a little bunny doing with a pred kit?”

“How should I know, Sherly? What I want to know is why she’s wearing a cop costume. Doesn’t she know impersonating an officer is a federal crime?”

Judy could feel her ears starting to burn, now completely attuned to the conversation.

“Don’t you watch the news?” the first voice, Sherly, huffed, “That’s the first rabbit police officer, Hoppy something or other.”

Her foot twitched with the need to start thumping against the gray floor in indignation.

“Really? How’s a timid rabbit going to keep us safe from larger mammals? Everyone knows preds are prone to violence. One swipe of a claw and her blood would paint the concrete.” Sherly hummed in agreement before the second voice continued, “Do you think that’s what happened? The parents were part of some fox gang and now that they’re in jail they need to bring the kit somewhere to be taken care of?”

“Probably. I mean, they’re _foxes_ , Janet. Its in their biology to be criminals.”

“The bunny cop might as well lock up that one too.” Janet said in response, “It’ll just save the police the trouble in a few years. I hear they start young.”

By this point in the conversation, Judy was ready to burst. She was sure her face was splotchy with all the blood that had risen. She had almost bitten her tongue off to keep from any profanities slipping out and she was surprised her hold on the kit hadn’t woken him up with how tight it had gotten.

Judy stood up from her seat. She hadn’t gotten into the police business because she was afraid of confrontation. If she saw or heard something she didn’t like, she spoke her mind.

Turning towards the voices, she saw a middle-aged zebra and deer, hunched together as they continued their conversation, unaware Judy had heard every single word.

So into their discussion, they didn’t even notice when the subject of their gossip stood two feet in front of them until Judy cleared her throat. Looking up, they blinked at her, dumbfounded that she had magically transported within strangling distance of them, before looking back at each other.

“Hi!” Judy greeted in an overly enthusiastic voice, wide, buck-toothed smile a bit strained, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation just now and I was wondering why you thought my personal life was any of your business?”

Both mammals continued staring at her, at a loss of what to say.

“And just so your aware, this poor kit just lost his whole family. They were regular, hardworking mammals. Show some compassion, actually why don’t you show some common curtesy and _not_ judge a mammal based on their species?”  Her eyes were hard as her mouth set in a firm line.

The zebra, whom Judy recognized as Shirly, finally spoke up, “Oh, come off it rabbit. You bunnies are too naïve for your own good. Just because you were part of some political agenda for the mayor doesn’t mean you can tell us how to act.” She gestured her head toward the sleeping kit Judy held in her arms, “Its only going to be to society’s benefit that two more foxes are off the street.”

Judy was so shocked at this animal’s coarse words, so uncaring of her stereotypical views, that she couldn’t form words to describe how completely enraged she felt. What she really wanted to do was take a good swing at her, like how her siblings would sometimes settle disputes when they were kits. But Judy was an officer of the law now, she couldn’t just go around assaulting people, especially when she was still in uniform. She was so worked up at the moment though, that she was honestly considering it when the automated voice coming from the overhead speakers announced their arrival at Judy’s stop.

Going with her better judgment, Judy shook her head and turned to the opening train doors. As she walked though onto the subway platform she called back over her shoulder, “You reap what you sow.”

She didn’t care if they didn’t understand the saying; she knew what it meant. It was one of the Hopps family sayings, one she liked a lot better than “If you never try, you’ll never fail”, and quite appropriate considering their profession. It could be applied to multiple situations but overall it meant that their actions were going to have consequences. Judy would wait in anticipation for the day those consequences came back to bite them in the ass.

***

A short trek up hill later, Judy was swinging the door open on her one room apartment.

Flicking her desk light on, she carefully lay the fox down on her rickety bed, placed the duffle bag in the far corner of the room and closed the door. She gave a tired sigh as she dropped into the chair by the desk, her head lolling back to stare at the ceiling. Judy could feel the day slowly creeping up on her as her eye lids began to feel unbelievably heavy. Giving into her exhaustion, she was just about to start pealing off her uniform to put on some night clothes when her cell phone began a familiar chime.

Judy let out a deep groan from the back of her throat as the smiling faces of her parents flashed onto the screen. She really didn’t feel like talking to them after the day she had but if she dismissed the call, they’d keep calling until they got a hold of her. Probably get a couple dozen of her siblings to see if they could get a hold of her too and then she’d have to come up with an excuse to explain to all of them why she didn’t answer the first time.

Fake smile firmly in place, she tapped her phone to except the Muzzle Time call.

“Oh, hey! Its my parents.” Judy spoke first.

For a moment, all Judy saw was a close up of her fathers twitching nose before he pulled the phone back and she could see him, along with her mother, somewhere deep in the burrow.

“Hey, Jude!” her father returned, as her mother followed with “How are you doing sweetie?”

“Oh, same, same. Not uh, not much excitement in maiding meters.”

“That’s great! You don’t need excitement if you’re safe and secure.” Her father, ever the supportive one.

Judy internally debated whether to bring up the events of today but she already knew how that conversation would go. First, the panic and concern that she could have been hurt by a larger mammal. Then, once she got around to explaining how exactly she ended up with a fox kit in her bed, the chastising for letting a fox into her house, even if it was a little one. She could practically hear her father, “Child foxes are just as dangerous as adult foxes because the little one’s don’t have as much control over their predatory urges and what if he gets hungry and decides you smell like you’d be good for dinner? Just because he’s small doesn’t mean his claws and teeth aren’t sharp.”

She shook her head slightly to clear the thought. Ya, she _really_ didn’t feel like going through that right now and besides, by tomorrow this whole situation would be behind her. Better to just avoid the potential blow-up and unrealistic fear she would instill in her parents.

“You know, bun-bun, if this police job isn’t shaping up to be what you thought it was, there is no shame in leaving. You’ll always have a place at home on the farm. Your brothers and sisters all miss you. Why don’t you come down for a few days, just for a visit?”

Though her mother was slightly more perceptive than her father, she was still firmly in the ‘Judy should come home and work on the farm with the rest of the family’ bandwagon.

“I know mom, but really, everything is fine. I’m still just considered a rookie, that’s all. I’m sure they’ll give me something a little more important soon but I need to remain vigilant. I promise, the first chance I get, I’ll come up for a visit. But it’s a four-hour train ride one way and I can’t take off so many consecutive days this early in my career. Especially if I want to get off of parking duty any time soon.”

She was sure that her reasons for delaying a visit back home after close to two months away were the same reasons her parents had for wanting her to come. Stu opened his mouth, most likely to say just that, only for Bonnie to indiscreetly elbow him.

“If you say so bun-bun.” Her mom answered, “We’ll let you get some sleep, its getting pretty late.”

Judy was slightly surprised at that, usually her parents would push more than they had before letting her go for the night. She guessed she hadn’t been able to disguise her exhaustion as well as she thought she did but she was grateful for it in this moment.

“Ya, it was a pretty long day and I still have to get up early for work tomorrow. I’ll talk to you later, love you guys.”

“Love you too, Jude”

“Night, Sweetie.”

Her parents faces froze on the screen for a couple seconds after they ended the video chat, before her phone went back to the home screen. Gently tossing the device across her desk, Judy placed her head in her paws and took a deep breath, held it, and then slowly let it out. She probably should get some sleep, she thought. Getting up, she turned toward her bed, and froze.

Robin egg blue eyes were watching her, head tilted to the side. When he noticed her watching him, he let out a series of small, high pitched yips. Two tiny paws reached out and made grasping motions toward her. The two seconds it took for it to register that the kit had woken up was exactly how long it took the excited yips to turn into whining cries.

Judy’s amethyst eyes widened in alarm. She was well versed in the vocal cues of kits and she knew that if she didn’t attend to the fox immediately, his whining had the potential to turn into teary sobs. Leaping from her place in front of the chair, she was by the side of the bed, picking him up, and bouncing the kit while whispering reassurances in ten seconds flat.

Sniffling, big blue eyes stared into hers and a smile lit up his face. Small paws reached up to frame her face, the pads soft yet somewhat rough in texture against her cheeks, as he cooed at her.

Judy’s heart melted into a puddle of goo at her feet.

“Hi” She whispered to him, “I know that your alone right now, but I’m going to make sure that you’re well taken care of. Soon, you’ll have a new family that will love and take care of you just like I’m sure your parents wanted. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

Before Judy could blink, the kit leaned up and licked her cheek, pink tongue darting right over her fur covered scars. And for some reason, Judy suddenly felt a wave of tears crash over her, her heart feeling like a painful lump in her chest.

This simple, innocent show of affection was the breaking point Judy hadn’t known she had been building up towards. Rabbits were incredibly social creatures and she had been utterly alone in the big city for nearly two months, receiving nothing but specism and back lash for doing a job she hated. She hugged the kit to her chest as she silently cried, promising him again that she’d make sure he was okay.

***

The cry last night had been good for Judy, as when she woke up the next morning she felt more fresh faced and happy then she had since her first day in Zootopia. This seemed doubly so since she only got a few hours of sleep.

Once the baby fox had woken up, he didn’t want to go back to bed and Judy was stuck trying every trick in the book to get him back to sleep. When he finally, _finally_ , drifted off, she placed him on the far side of the bed so that when she lied down next to him, he was sandwiched between the wall and her body. It wasn’t exactly ideal but it worked in a pinch to keep him from rolling off the bed. Plus, Judy was pretty good about sleeping in one spot as rabbits liked to sleep cuddled together as kits and that didn’t offer much wiggle room.

After quickly going through her morning routine, Judy grabbed the now stirring fox firmly under the arms and hosted him onto her hip, the motion already having become familiar, and she got to work. While the last pre-made bottle circled in the microwave, she made sure he got the prescribed vitamins from the paramedics and laid out a grey striped shirt and jeans for her to change him into. Once breakfast was accomplished, Judy worked on bathing him in the apartments communal bathroom sink, which ended up with her having to change into her spare uniform as the one she had put on this morning was soaked. It was an experience for her since bunny kits were usually quite docile while getting bathed, the warm water soothing them to a sleepy mess. Foxes, it seemed, not so much. The water woke the baby fox right up, kicking and slapping his paws against the surface as she tried to make sure the soap didn’t get into his eyes.

By the time Judy left her apartment that morning, duffle bag over her shoulder and fox on her hip, the child services agency had already opened for the day.

The kit was much more lively today, constantly wiggling and yipping at all the different sights along the short subway ride to the city centre. Judy had to stifle a chuckle at how big his eyes got when he spotted a family of mice entering the subway car, before his yips got louder and he leaned all his weight forward as he reached out to them. She did laugh when said family of mice squeaked, jumping at the sight of a fox reaching toward them, before scurrying to the end of the car.

The child services building was almost exactly across from the subway entrance, so when Judy came up from the train she only had to cross the street before she stood by the large front doors. The outside of the ten-story building was made almost entirely out of glass and Judy could see the silhouette of a sheep at the receptionist desk, working away on a computer.

Straightening her spine, Judy grasped the long, metal door handle as she tilted her head down to look at the kit in her arms.

“This is it.” She whispered to him, “We’re going to have to say good-bye soon but don’t worry, it’s these good mammal’s jobs to make sure kits are well taken care of.”

The fox stared up at her, head angled inquisitively.

“Maybe I’ll even be able to visit you some time.” This she whispered quietly to herself, her eyes drifting back up to look at the sheep behind the glass door.

Tensing, Judy pulled the heavy door open enough that she could dash through. Readjusting her hold on the kit, she walked up to the desk and called out a greeting.

Looking down from her perch, her eyes landed on Judy before zeroing in on the fox she held.

“Not another one!” the sheep protested, exasperated.

Judy blinked, taken aback by her tone. She opened her mouth to explain the situation, thinking the sheep might have misunderstood why she was here, not that Judy really knew what else the sheep might have thought she was doing there. Before she could get a word out, however, the sheep spoke again.

“We just got rid of the last one not even six months ago.” She shook she head, white wool bouncing, as if her action would stop whatever she was obviously dreading.

“Uh,” Judy questioned, “another what?”

“Fox!” The receptionist all but shrieked, “None of the orphanages we have around the city want them, we need to keep a roster so that no one orphanage is burdened more than another.”

_Burdened?_ Judy thought, as she looked down at the sweet kit whose ears were now pressed against his skull at how loud the sheep’s voice had gotten, little head buried in her neck.

“But he’s just a baby!” Judy exclaimed, dumfounded that even the care system of her beloved city was acting like this child was a menace just because he was a fox.

“Even worse!” she returned, “That just means he’s going to be here longer. I told you, no one wants a fox. They all just age out of the system at eighteen. That means that this one,” She jabbed her hoof at the kit and Judy took a step back, arms tightening around him, “will be juggled around the different houses for the next eighteen years. The paperwork! Do you know how much complaining I have to deal with? _We housed a fox for two years, how come the orphan house in Tundra Town only housed one for a year and a half?_ ” She mocked.

“Can’t do anything about it, I suppose. Can’t just put them on the street, though that is a nice thought.” The sheep continued before sighing in resignation, “Alright, give it here. I have to take him up to the medical wing and make sure he gets all his shots before I start trying to figure out where I can stick him for the time being.” She thrust her arms out, waiting for Judy to place the kit in her hooves.

Judy’s protective grip on the little fox tightened. If that sheep thought she was going to hand over this kit, she was going to be waiting for a very long time.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys again for all your love and support! Your comments mean the world to me!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to quickly address any concerns you may have at the lack of Nick so far: Not to worry! Nick WILL DEFINITELY be another main character of this story, just in later chapters. For now, I really want to focus on developing Judy's relationship with the kit; creating a solid framework. I promise, I do have some semblance of a plan going on up here *points to head*  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all it's characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

Judy’s first inclination was to just take the kit and run but her police education stopped her natural ‘act first, ask questions later’ behaviour short. Even though the fox in her arms no longer had any living relatives and was classified as an orphan, taking the kit without the proper legal rights would still be considered kidnapping as he was now technically a ward of the state.

Her small nose twitched for a second, head turning toward the glass doors and looking at all the mammals walking by and going about their business. The receptionist still had her arms out, though her facial expression had gone from resigned irritation to annoyance that Judy was taking up more of her time than was absolutely necessary.

The sheep took a step forward, “I’ll take the kit now, officer.”

Judy stood frozen in place, unable to form the words needed to convey the emotional storm raging in her mind.

The sheep took another step forward, now standing directly in front of her, and went to pull the kit from her arms as it became clear Judy wasn’t going to pass him along. The moment the sheep’s hoof touched the kit, he let out a despairing whimper and tried to push his head impossibly deeper into the fur of her neck.

“No!”

Judy recoiled from the sheep, actually jumping backward about two feet.

The receptionist had recoiled too; Judy’s voice had been sharper than she’d indented and now echoed around the large greeting area. The sheep’s surprise at her outburst didn’t last long though and her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Judy like she’d grown another head.

“I, uh, I mean-”, Judy scrambled to sort her thoughts into coherency, “I can’t just let the kit be dumped somewhere that he’s going to be treated like a pest because he’s a fox. He’s an innocent baby.”

The sheep still hadn’t made a move to say anything but was now looking at her like she was the silly, naïve bunny most of the officers in the precinct took her as.

“Listen,” the sheep finally began, tone patronizing, “there’s no helping this. Where ever that fox is going to end up, no one’s going to want him there. It’s the way the world works, bunny. Mammals know that foxes are predisposed to criminality, you think they’re going to let down their guard so that they can be stabbed in the back one day? No, they’re not.” She answered her own question, “And while this one may not have done anything yet, it is just a matter of time. You can’t fight biology.”

Judy couldn’t comprehend how the sheep standing before her could so shamelessly believe such a thing; spouting stereotypes like they were simple facts of life.

Adjusting her grip on the kit, whom was starting to become wrestles with the lack of action, Judy opened her mouth to protest when her eye caught on the bright pink colour of a little can at her hip. It was the Fox Away her father had given her when she left for Zootopia near two months ago. The one she had carried with her everyday, ever ready should she need it. The one she had told her father she would only take with her to “make him stop talking”. And something clicked.

Judy might have even been worse than this sheep because as prejudiced as the receptionist sounded, she knew her opinions and let people know it. On the other hand, Judy would berate her family for their biases, stating that Gideon was ‘just a jerk who happened to be a fox’ whenever they brought up the clawing incident. Actions spoke louder than words, though. Her need to carry around the fox repellent was an indicate of a bias Judy hadn’t known she had. Unconscious of the fact, Judy had been behaving as though foxes were likely to be up to no good and aggressive in action. Even worse, she was a police officer. Someone who was meant to serve and protect everybody, to be fair and unbiased in their actions.

She was preaching one thing, but behaving in another. In this stark moment of self-realization, Judy saw that she wasn’t as open-minded as she always thought herself to be. She was not immune to prejudice, and those stereotypes had seeped into her behaviour without her being aware.

Another thought hit her. Hadn’t she been fighting the same battle all her life? Telling people that just because she was a bunny, it didn’t mean that she was weak or timid; didn’t mean that she couldn’t be a police officer. Insisting to the other officers at the precinct that she wasn’t some token bunny, that she was just as capable of helping mammals as any of them.

All the mammals around her treated her like she was incompetent in her job, not because of anything she had done personally, but because of what she was. A bunny. And all the stereotypes that went with being a bunny tainted how others saw and reacted to her.

Her hip burned where the can rested. Glancing down, Judy saw that the kit had finally peaked out from hiding in her fur and when her eyes met his wide and trusting ones, she had never felt more ashamed of herself in her life.

Her mind steeled in decision and her spine straightened; Judy had made a promise and she kept her promises.

Looking the sheep in her brown eyes Judy asked, “What’s the protocol for adopting a kit?”

The brown eyes blinked once, then twice more, “Uh, well first there is the standard background procedure. The wait time is usually pretty long since we need to make sure the parental applicants are suited to- wait,” the sheep cut herself off, her tone incredulous as she continued, “do you mean to say that _you_ want to adopt the _fox_?”

Judy’s eyes narrowed, “I am.”

“But you’re a _rabbit_?”

“Is there a point you’re trying to make there?”

“Foxes are predators!” she exclaimed the fact like it should be obvious to Judy, “Not to mention your natural enemy!”

“As far as I am aware, there is no law dictating that a prey can not adopt a predator. Am I wrong?”

“Well, no. But-”

This time it was Judy who cut her off, “Then I don’t see why it’s any of your concern that a prey mammal is adopting a predator. The only business you have in the matter is making sure I am a fit parent for the kit. From what I’ve heard, your standards for fox care aren’t exactly a high bar to pass.” If Judy sneered the last bit, she wasn’t overly apologetic of the fact.

The sheep stared at the bunny officer with a curious expression before speaking again, “If you’re serious about adopting the kit I don’t know why I’m arguing with you. It would save me from several migraines and the mountain of paperwork I’d need to figure out with the kit hopping from orphanage to orphanage.” She paused, her tone almost worried when she continued, “You are serious about adopting him, aren’t you?”

Judy could only shake her head in mild disgust at how obvious it was that the sheep wanted to be rid of the sweet fox kit, before answering her, “Yes, I’m serious. You were saying something earlier about a background check and waiting period I would have to-”

Head swiveling side to side almost the entire time Judy spoke, the receptionist spoke over her inquiry as her hooves came up to also wave in the negative, “No, no, no, no, no. None of that. I’m sure when you became a police officer you had to go through multiple background checks, so we can just skip over that. And you would be making a steady income working for the government, another bonus. We just need to go through a small stack of paperwork to sign off all legal rights to you and you can be on your way in a jiffy.” She turned on her heel, waving a hoof over her head as she began to head down one of the side hallways, hooves tapping against the laminate, “I’ll set us up in one of our conference rooms. Come along.”

Judy blinked at her retreating figure before slowly following her, the kits head swiveling around to take in the new sights as she moved out of the greeting area. Though glad that there wasn’t going to be a big, tedious process, Judy was slightly angered at the same time. The city’s child services agency was so eager to be rid of any foxes that came their way that all policy and regulations that ensured the safety of the child were thrown out the window. Judy could have been anybody and the agency wouldn’t have cared as long as they didn’t have to deal with the fox.

Coming up to a line of offices, front walls also made of glass so that a mammal would be able to easily look in and see the happenings inside, the sheep stopped at the fourth door down, pulling out a large ring of keys before unlocking the door. Stepping inside, the receptionist gestured to the two chairs across from the desk for Judy to sit while she trotted over to a large file cabinet along the side wall.

The metal drawer screeched as it was pulled open, causing both Judy and the kit’s ears to fall back against their head to protect their sensitive hearing. The sheep seemed not to notice the obtrusive noise as she quickly flicked through dozens of beige folders before suddenly yanking one out and slamming the drawer shut, producing the same shrieking sound.

White wool bouncing as she tittered on her way to the chair behind the desk, the receptionist sat and opened the folder so that she could shuffle through the documents.

“Uh,” Judy began, brown eyes turning up to meet her, “not to assume anything but shouldn’t a social worker be doing this? I didn’t think the receptionist had any authority to oversee an adoption.”

“Technically, you’re right. A social worker usually has to go through the whole adoption process for each individual kit and potential parent.” Her lips pursed in thought for a moment, “But since we are forgoing the background check and we want to make this as speedy as possible so that we won’t have to figure out temporary housing for the kit, my signature has enough authority for this exception.”

Judy’s blood was starting to boil as the basic child safety of the fox kit was again thrown under the bus right in front of her. She held her tongue though, because if she argued to the point of their complacency and was subsequently made to wait the regulated adoption process, Judy could only imagine where the kit would end up for the time being. What abuse and neglect he would be put through because of his species. As long as everything was still above board and all the legal documents were sorted out, she would have to be content.

“Okay,” the still unnamed receptionist started, laying out a dozen sheets of paper with at least two dozen places requesting her signature, “The short of it is, is that you’re legally agreeing to full responsibility of the well-fare of this kit. Basically, making sure he’s fed, clothed, gets an education, and medically attended to when needed. By signing these papers, you are stating to the government that you have the means necessary to do all of this and will hereby be considered his parent in all but blood.”

Judy nodded along as she spoke, feeling nervousness creep up on her the longer the sheep went on. She wanted to get this all squared off as soon as possible, fear that they might inexplicably decide they really _should_ be following policy, even for a fox, and take the kit from her coursed through her.

Spinning halfway around in her wheeled chair, the sheep’s hoof pressed a button on the outdated phone stationed at the corner of her wooden desk before turning back to Judy.

“One of the medical staff will be down in a moment to take the kit. We still need to indicate that we had him checked over and provided him with all necessary shots before signing him off to you. It’s procedure, you understand.”

_Seems to be the only procedure you’re following,_ Judy thought bitterly, _What? If you didn’t at least prove you did the bare minimum for a fox kit you’d get a slap on the wrist for not keeping up the pretense that you’re not prejudice?_

Before she could say anything addressing this new information, a kindly looking brown bear was at the door, clearing her throat to announce her presence.

For a moment, Judy’s arms locked, not wanting to let go of the red ball of fluff still wiggling in her arms. He had been surprisingly quiet since the initial time someone had tried to take him from the rabbit, observing everything going on around him. Now he started up at the brown bear with his wide robin egg blue eyes, a comical look of astonishment on his small face. It took her another second to get her arms to relax, reluctantly holding up the kit to the bear so that he could have his shots taken.

The moment Judy’s paws left his person, his muzzle scrunched up before letting loose a whine, head swiveling in a desperate search for the grey bunny with the warm purple eyes. Her immediate reaction was to reach back out to take the kit and sooth him but the bear had already turned and was swiftly moving down the hall and out of sight.

“Don’t worry,” a voice said from behind Judy, “Most kits cry when handed off to a mammal they don’t know. Betty will just make sure everything looks good and take his paw prints for our records before bringing him back here. Now, while your arms are free, lets get the paperwork sorted.”

Biting her lip, Judy reluctantly turned back toward the desk with all the documents laid out for her. As much as she was didn’t like it, having her paws free for the moment would make things easier.

“Before we start the signing process, we will need to photocopy his birth certificate for his file here at the agency. Plus, we need to add all of the kits information to the adoption documents. I presume you have it with you?”

Judy nodded, reaching down she grasped the shoulder strap of the duffle bag that lay on the floor by her feet, before pulling it into her lap. Quickly unzipping it, she shifted through a couple articles of clothing before pulling out the birth certificate and passing it to the sheep’s waiting hoof.

She grabbed a pen and was about to start filling in the child information portion of the adoption form when she paused and looked back toward the rabbit officer.

“There’s no name?” She questioned.

Judy blinked. Though glaringly obvious as she had only been able to refer to the fox as the ‘kit’ for the past twenty-four hours, that fact had somehow managed to slip into the back of her mind.

“Oh! Yes, we’re not sure why it wasn’t filled out. If the family had picked out a name for him, we couldn’t find it written down anywhere. But if the rest of the birth certificate is accurate, which it seems to be, then he’s only a month old. Though unusual, I have heard of mammals waiting a few weeks after birth to decide on a name. I’ve heard that in some cultures, they wait because they want to base the name off of the kits personality.” The information automatically rolling off of Judy’s tongue.

The sheep muttered something under her breath but it was too garbled for Judy to make out, even though her strong ears picked up on the noise.

“Well, then.” Her hoofs clapped together and held them by her chest, “I guess that means you get to pick out his name. What’s it going to be?”

The question caught Judy completely off guard, though it really shouldn’t have. Of course they’d need to name the kit, they couldn’t just call him ‘fox’ for the rest of his life. But it hadn’t occurred to her that she’d be the one doing the naming. Her mind raced. She wished she had more time, an opportunity to look up kit names, but the sheep was looking at her expectantly, pen poised above the birth certificate. Judy had a feeling if she didn’t decide soon, the sheep would just write down whatever she thought expectable to hurry along the process. And knowing the mammal in front of her, his name probably _would_ end up being ‘Fox’.

Judy knew that she didn’t want to name the kit after anyone in her family; she wanted his name to be uniquely his. Something that spoke of him.

“Robin Jedidiah Hopps.” She stated with finality.

‘Robin’ for his striking blue eyes, the thing that had caught her attention when she lifted that woolen blanket for the first time; eyes that seemed to express so many emotions. ‘Jedidiah’ because she was going to make sure he was loved, make sure _he_ _knew_ he was loved. And ‘Hopps’ as he was now hers; her family.

The sheep nodded at her answer and neatly printed the name in the previously blank space on the birth certificate. Moving the certificate aside, she jotted down his name, his birth parent’s names, and his time of birth on each sheet of the adoption document before sliding them one by one over to her for Judy to fill out her own personal information and sign.

Having trained to be able to quickly read and assess important legal documents in the academy, Judy managed to work through everything pretty quickly. Caught up in the whole process, she didn’t even notice she had signed the last page until the sheep whisked it out from under her nose. Placing the white slip of paper at the bottom of the pile she had assembled, she tapped the ends on the desk to align all the edges before stapling them together.

“Well that just about covers it.” The sheep stood up, Judy blinking up at her in surprise from her seat, and watched as she headed around the desk and toward the open office door, “I’m just going down the hall to photo copy the birth certificate for us and the adoption form for you. You’re certainly going to need it for proof of your legal rights as Robin’s mother.” And she slipped out of the room without so much as a glance back. Judy was grateful for it though, because her mouth was now slightly ajar.

Completely alone for the first time since this whole thing started, her mind was finally able to dedicate all it’s resources to piecing together a picture for Judy to look at. To be left with such a concrete statement pushed that picture to the front of her mind. She was a _mother_. As of yet, everyone had been talking in abstracts of kit and parent. To call the kit by name, the name _she_ had given him, and address her as his _mom_ , was the point in time that the ball dropped.

Judy had done it again; jumped without looking. The little fox kit with robin egg blue eyes would be an ever-present figure in her world for the rest of her life, would at one point look at the grey rabbit and call her mom.

Judy’s already naturally fast heart beat quickened as her breaths became shallow. This was _not_ in her plan. She had always been a career oriented bunny, even from the time she was a young kit, all she ever wanted to do was be a police officer. While other little bunny girls played house, she played cops and robbers. While they pretended to care for their stuffed bunnies as if they were babies, she pretended to arrest her stuffed bunnies as if they were criminals.

It wasn’t that Judy was completely opposed to the idea of having kits, it was just something she hadn’t pictured doing until well off in the future. And, considering the precious lack of rabbit bucks who actually supported her career as a police officer, thought her just as capable of doing her job as other officers, _and_ didn’t assume she would eventually quit and live as a house wife to raise multiple litters of kits, the idea of becoming a mother wasn’t even on her radar.

Judy wasn’t completely naïve to the situation she had just put herself in either. As one of the older Hopps siblings, she had done her fair share of helping to raise the younger generations. She knew how much time, energy, and money it took to raise a kit. _But_ , her mind brought up, _I know all of this information regarding bunny kits. Fox kits are a whole different carrot patch. How fast did they grow? Did they need special vitamins? What about dietary supplements? She knew foxes ate meat but when did they start moving from formula to solid food?_

Judy didn’t think her mind’s line of questioning would have stopped if not for the fact that the brown bear that took the fox kit to get his shots knocked on the door jamb, sniffling child held securely in the other.

When Robin’s eyes found hers, he let out a high-pitched yip and began struggling in earnest, feet kicking the air and little paws reaching as far as they could to get to her. And just like that, all of Judy’s worries fled to the back of her mind. They were still there, and she knew that she was going to have to deal with them sooner rather than later, but Judy was nothing if not an overachiever. She also realized, in that moment, that she didn’t regret a single thing. Somewhere in the past twenty-four hours, this little red ball of fluff had snuck into her heart and Judy didn’t think she’d ever be able to let him go.

Hopping up from the chair, Judy crossed the space in three long strides, arms already extended to take the kit from the medic. Thin arms tightened around her neck like a vice, legs wound to either side of her short frame, as Robin’s small black snout burrowed into her shoulder. Judy’s arms were supporting the kit under his thighs and across his back but she was willing to bet that if she let go, the fox wouldn’t move an inch from how strongly he clung to her.

Her right ear flicked as she caught the sound of his short whimpers and Judy raised her head to give the brown bear a death glare only to find her gone and the receptionist in her place, stacks of paper in hand.

Returning to her desk without so much as a glance at the new mother and son, she placed the original adoption document and photocopied birth certificate back in the beige folder and quickly noted something along the subject heading. Pulling open a previously unknown drawer from beneath the desks surface, she placed the folder inside before closing it again.

Coming back around to Judy, she held out the original birth certificate as well as the photocopied adoption document, still warm from the printer, for her to take.

“Here are your legal documents, I strongly suggest you make extra copies for your records in case these are lost or damaged.” One paw still underneath the kits legs, Judy held out her other one to grasp the papers, “Congratulations on your knew child, we here at the child services agency wish you all the best. You may contact us at any time if you have questions regarding legalities. Please follow me and I will lead you back to the entrance.”

That was probably the most automated statement Judy had ever heard in her life that hadn’t come from an answering machine. Shaking her head slightly at the utter lack of sincerity in this whole process from the agency, she set the documents down on the desk for a second while she lifted the duffle bag one handed and set it on the chair. After unzipping the bag, she took back the documents and slide them inside before zipping it closed and hefting the strap over her free shoulder.

The sheep, whose name Judy still hadn’t been given, stood watching her in the doorway, polite but strained smile on her face as her foot tapped lightly in impatience.

It took all of her effort not to roll her eyes at the display, following behind the receptionist when she turned and began the winding path out of the offices and back into the front lobby.

Not even bothering to walk them to the front door, the sheep went directly back to her position at the front desk were Judy had first saw her, eyes on her computer screen as she called out, “Well, it was nice meeting you officer Hopps. Have a good afternoon.”

“You, too.” She automatically replied.

Stepping outside onto the busy street, it wasn’t until Judy looked up at the sun in the sky that it registered how late it had gotten. If all the skills she had acquired growing up on a farm hadn’t suddenly failed her, the suns position indicated that it was practically noon.

Bogo had only given her the morning off, expecting Judy’s presence in the precinct by twelve for the second half of her shift. Hastily maneuvering her free arm around the duffel bag, trying to make sure it didn’t slide off her shoulder in the process, her paw grasped her cell phone in the back pocket of her uniform pants.

Bringing it around to her face, she hit the power button and watched as her phone lit up. It was five to twelve. Five minutes; Judy had five minutes to make it to work on time.

A soft coo had Judy looking down. Robin’s eyes were fixed on the bright light of the phone, stretching a paw up to lightly touch the screen.

Right. The chief had given her the morning off to hand over the kit to child services. And right now, Judy stood outside of the child services building with said kit still in hand, five minutes till her shift, and was now his mother.

“Carrot sticks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you for all the love and support. Your comments are always highly anticipated!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

While the child services building was considered part of the downtown area, it was located on the fringes. Precinct One was ten blocks away, smack dab in the city center. There was no way Judy was going to make it to work on time; Bogo was most likely already wondering where she was. After all, it shouldn’t take too long just to pass over the kit considering the chief had already notified the agency last night.

Her eyes closed in dread of what she was going to have to do. Still one-pawed, Judy navigated to her contacts and scrolled through her favourites till she hit ‘Precinct One’. Her thumb hovered over the little telephone icon, buck teeth biting her bottom lip in anxiety. Her mind ran with different possible ways to go about the conversation. _Hey chief, so something came up-_ No, too informal. _Sir, I’m going to be about twenty minutes late to work. Why? I lost track of time when I was going through the adoption-_ Uh, too abrupt. I need to ease him into it. _Please don’t fire me!_ Okay, that one didn’t even have an explanation.

The metallic taste of blood flitted across her tongue as she realized she’d been worrying her lip to the point of breaking skin. Eyes snapping back to the iCarrot in her paw, she saw that she’d been standing in the middle of the street for the last four minutes lost in thought. Judy was due back in the chief’s office to report this mornings proceedings in the next minute.

Shaking her head, Judy’s thumb hit the call icon of its own violation, breath caught in her throat as she lifted the device to her ear.

The air left her lungs in an audible whoosh as she heard the call connect.

“Precinct One, front desk. This is officer Clawhauser speaking, how may I help you?”

“Clawhauser?”

A high-pitched gasp could be heard coming from the rotund cheetah, “Judy!? Where are you? The chief looks like he’s going to have a conniption. He said you are expected in his office, like, now.”

“I know, I know. Something happened, I won’t be able to get to the precinct for another twenty minutes. Can you patch me in to the chief? I need to talk to him.”

“Ya, of course. But I’d hurry if I were you. What happened yesterday caused a lot of paperwork, he’s been a bit grumpy this morning. Hopefully once you give him your report and we put the incident behind us, he’ll relax.”

The dread that had slowly ebbed as she spoke with the excitable cheetah came crashing over top of Judy like a tidal wave as the precincts waiting music filled the speaker. _Thanks Claw_ , she thought, _that was super helpful right now_.

There was a click over the line, cutting off the music. There was a decisively Bogo sounding snort before he spoke.

“Hopps,” his voice was impossibly deeper as he dragged out her name, just short of menacing, “why am I speaking to you over the phone and not in my office.”

Judy went to speak but ended up coughing over the lump in her throat when she tried to make a sound. Lightly coughing again, she started, “Uh, I know. I’m sorry, sir. You see, I left on time this morning to the child services building but-”

Bogo’s commanding voice broke over her answer, “ _Don’t_ care, Hopps. Clawhauser said your twenty minutes away? I want you here in fifteen, tiny butt in my office, and giving me this mornings report in person like you _should_ be doing right now. Am I understood?”

“Uh, sir?” Judy tried to give him some context in the situation she was now in.

“ _Understood?_ ”

“Yes, sir.” She relented.

Her phone beeped as the call was ended from the opposite end. Judy pulled her cell from her long ear, looking at it in despair.

“Well, I suppose that could have gone worse.” She tried to convince herself.

A weight on the side of her muzzle caused her to turn away from her home screen and down to the kit in her arms. One arm lifted to rest a paw on her cheek, Robin’s blue eyes stared into hers as his ears swivelled toward her, picking up on her distress.

Judy smiled lightly at the gesture and brought him close to her chest in a hug, “I’m okay. But we have to go visit uncle Bogo now and he doesn’t like me very much. Don’t worry, though, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” And, without thinking, swiped her chin across the top of his head.

She froze, chin still resting against his red fur. Scent marking, or chinning for rabbits, was only done in two situations. One was enacted with the claiming of a mate, a physical sign of dedication to your chosen life partner. The second was performed by parents on their children, most predominantly between mother and kit, as an act of love and a sign of protection. Though the scent marking of a mate had remained a highly important and common practice, child scent marking had diminished in meaning for many mammals. It was still done, just more as a show of affection than anything else. This was not so for rabbits. In fact, some argue that child scent marking was even more important than mate scent marking within rabbit culture. This is because, in ancient times, one of most important functions of child scent marking was identification.

With rabbit family sizes still remaining as large as they were, and social instincts driving bunnies to gather together, such as in Bunnyburrow, one can imagine why identification is crucial. All mammals of a species look the same when first born, only gaining more defining characteristics when they reach kithood. Even then, siblings tended to share many of these characteristics, and when you have two hundred and seventy-five siblings you’re bound to have at least a few that look near identical. And while scent marking can’t help a parent differentiate between there own children, it is critical in separating your kits from the neighbours. 

As Judy didn’t have a mate, she had only even been scent marked by her parents. Never had she scent marked another mammal for any reason. Until now.

She hadn’t even intended to chin the little fox, it had been an instinctual action that Judy didn’t know she was doing until it had happened. If she were to take a guess, Judy would say that her unconscious mind was viewing the upcoming confrontation with Bogo as a threat to her kit. That the chief might try to take him away from her and hand him over to the agency to be treated like a menace. And in a silent retaliation, Judy’s body had decided to make a clear statement of claim.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to scent mark her child, but having her body perform it without her intention surprised and slightly worried her. She was already acting toward the fox kit as if he were her own flesh and blood. And though Judy obviously was going to love him as her own, to have this strong of a bond after one day had her questioning if she was ready for this. Ready to raise her son. Her _son_.

Judy could feel the traitorous sting of tears at the back of her eyes. _Stupid bunny emotions_. Pulling her head back, she swallowed thickly and knuckled her eyes.

“Okay! Enough of that. I think we’ve tested Bogo enough for today. Clawhauser’s probably stress ate a whole box of donuts since the time we called. Hey, you wanna bet one got stuck in his neck? Two bedtime stories and a snuggle?” Robin’s maw opened wide in a happy smile before giggling, “Okay, fine, three snuggles.”

Robin leaned up, wrapping his arms around her neck, and buried his whole face in the crook of her neck. Lips curling up at the sight, Judy took this opportunity to get a secure hold on her kit, adjusting the duffle bag strap on her shoulder, before taking off in a sprint down the street.

Rabbits were fast creatures by nature but her training at the academy had made Judy even faster; not many mammals could now keep up with her. Luckily, as it had only just hit noon, few mammals had left their stations for lunch, allowing her a fairly clear path down the city blocks.

***

Reaching the steps leading up to Precinct One, Judy picked up speed, hopping them three at a time. It wasn’t until she passed through the revolving front door that she slowed her pace. Robin had been yipping in excitement as she ran, loving the feel of the wind through his fur, and now wiggled in her grip from the built-up energy. By some small miracle, Clawhauser wasn’t sitting in his usual place behind the front desk, most likely also gone for lunch given the time. Though the cheetah was by far the friendliest of her co-workers, he was also overly excitable and Judy knew the moment he saw the kit held in her arms, an ear bleeding squeal would emit from him, alerting Bogo to her presence. She wanted to be able to explain the situation to the chief without him blowing up in the auditorium.

Making her way up the curved staircase to the precincts second level, Judy kept her ears standing upright, tuned into the area around her. By the time she stood in front of the chief’s office door, she was pretty sure even the slightest sound would have set her off, she was so wound up from nerves.

Knowing that Bogo would notice her silhouette through the frosted glass of the door, Judy quickly rapped her knuckles against the wood.

“Enter.” Was the immediate, gruff reply.

Judy had to extend her arm above her head in order to grasp the door handle, the other arm wrapped around Robin’s back. Opening the door, she peaked her head in first to assess the gravity of the situation. Bogo sat hunched over his desk, reading meticulously through several dense pieces of text. Before he could turn his attention onto her, Judy opened the door wide enough to slip through before quickly shutting it. She, of all people, knew that the chief’s voice could carry all the way over to Bunnyburrow when the mood struck. She hoped the door would at least be able to muffle the next conversation.

Standing awkwardly by the door, Judy debated whether she should wait for further acknowledgement from the chief, or go directly to the too-large chair set in front of the desk.

Answering for her, and without looking up, he went, “Chair, Hopps.”

Standing at attention, she almost saluted at the command from her superior, before moving swiftly to the desk. Lowering the duffle bag beside her, Judy turned so that her back was to the chair before doing an awkward, backward leap and shimmy into the seat as she couldn’t climb on with Robin clinging to her front.

Still reading over the documents he held in both hooves, Bogo spoke again, “I’m assuming you have a good explanation for why the fox is still in your possession and not currently being seen to at the child services office.” Finishing off the page he was on, the buffalo flipped it over and began the next, “So, enlighten me, Hopps.”

Robin had stopped squirming and was now staring up at the massive mammal before him with wide, non-blinking, eyes.

“Explanation. Yes, I do have an explanation good- uh, good explanation, sir.” Judy’s thoughts had scrambled at the chief’s inquiry and she was frantically trying to put them back together in a logical order.

A hard gust of air left the chiefs snout in irritation at the small rabbit’s lack of clarification. A hoof came up and lifted the reading glasses from the bridge of his nose, much more gracefully than one would expect for a mammal of his stature, and finally raised his eyes to stare down the bunny officer. He didn’t say anything, but Judy felt smaller than a mouse as his gaze bore down on her.

Taking a short breath, she tried again, “Sir, the reason the kit isn’t with child services right now is because he doesn’t belong there.” Seeing the chief about to interrupt, Judy hurried to continue her explanation, “I did take him to the child services building to drop him off this morning as instructed, chief. But I didn’t even get a chance to say anything before they saw the kit and started complaining about having to take it another fox.”

Bogo ley out an exasperated sigh, anger tinging the edges, ‘He’s a _fox_ , Hopps. I didn’t expect them to be over the moon with joy in having to take him in but it’s the law whether they like it or not. The kit has no living relatives which means that the fox is now a ward of the state. It doesn’t matter if you agree with their opinions or not, as long as they provide him with all the necessity’s, you can’t do anything about it.”

“Which is why I adopted him.” Was the rabbits immediate reply.

Bogo sat up straight in his chair, spine stiff in surprise, and shock written clearly across his face.

“You _what_?” The buffalo wondered if he needed to get his hearing checked, his age seemed to be affecting his senses earlier than he thought.

Judy lost some of her gusto after her abrupt reveal of the current situation, “I adopted him, sir. I couldn’t let this innocent kit be treated like a criminal because of his species. I don’t care about society’s opinions of foxes, it’s wrong.”

The police chief of Precinct One continued to stare at the bunny before him in utter disbelief. All he had assigned Hopps to do was hand over a kit to the proper authorities; how had he managed to loose complete control of the situation?

Bogo had been looking for any excuse he could to fire the rabbit since it had become abundantly clear that she wasn’t going to quit of her own violation. Her coming back with the kit he had ordered her to hand over to the child services agency of Zootopia had words of her dismissal sitting on the tip of his tongue.

Those words refused to slip from his mouth, however, because, “And I’m sure you realized that I couldn’t legally do anything about your decision because it would be considered discrimination against a woman’s potential to be a mother and take time off work.”

The chief’s voice was calm but his tone screamed repressed rage at what Judy had done; the rabbit having already been in his black book didn’t help. Her body gave the slightest flinch at the accusation but she couldn’t deny it. The bunny officer had not been the top of her class due to some political agenda like everyone seemed to think. She worked harder than any of her fellow cadets to gain that position, waking up early to go on mile long runs before training and staying up late to memorize every line of the ZPD manual. Even though Judy had never thought it would apply to her, at least not so soon in her career, she knew the rules pertaining to when an officer had a new kit. Even though her decision to adopt Robin had been sudden and unthinking, she had still had enough of her wits about her to be aware that Bogo couldn’t fire her, if nothing else.

Judy said nothing to the fact, however, choosing wisely to remain silent while in the face of the chief’s rage.

“In that case,” Bogo went on, “you must also know that, as per the most recent Adoption Act, you have the right to three months maternity leave should you choose to take it. That’s _unpaid_ time, Hopps. And while you will still have your job when you return, the law doesn’t entitle you to active duty. _I_ make that decision.”

As Bogo spoke, Judy realized that she did know that, yet it had somehow escaped her mind in the last few hours. _Maternity leave?_ She didn’t want to leave her job, even if only for a few months. She had worked so hard for this, it was her dream. Being taken off duty had been one of her main worries about having kits, if she ever found a buck to settle down with, and now it seemed the choice was in front of her. Of course she wanted to be there for Robin, but she wasn’t going to jeopardise herself in the process.

One of the foremost objections to her becoming a police officer by the bunnies in her hometown was how she was going to be able to care for her kits if she had to go to work everyday. Woman tried to guilt her, telling her that if she was a police officer and couldn’t be home to care for her babies, then they’d feel abandoned. That without her there every second of everyday to raise and care for them, her kits would become criminals because they didn’t feel loved. Judy knew that their arguments sounded ridiculous and was positive that they actually were. Still, not one to go about on speculation, Judy did her research. All the studies she found showed that having a working mother didn’t cause their kits to turn to crime; just because a woman worked, didn’t mean she couldn’t properly care for her child.

The argument didn’t have a leg to stand on and, with the chance of further hindering her career, Judy had decided she wasn’t going to take maternity leave when the time came. More than that, though, it was _unpaid_. In all of her distant future scenario’s, she’s had a partner to fall back on. Someone to help her take care of the kit physically, emotionally, and financially.

Kits were bloody well expansive. Judy couldn’t _afford_ to take the maternity leave even if she wanted to. The rabbit officer was going to need all the money she could get to help raise this kit. As it stood, she was living in a broom closet with no baby supplies whatsoever. Taking three months of unpaid time off was not an option.

“Actually, Sir,” Judy addressed her boss’s statement, “I’ve decided not to take the maternity leave. I want every chance to further my career here at the ZPD. With having to care for a kit, I’m going to need all the shifts I can get to support us financially.”

Bogo looked mildly surprised before his brow crinkled, “If having this kit is going to cause you to struggle financially, why would the agency agree with the adoption. Now that I think about it, how did you even adopt him in just a couple hours? The adoption process is more grueling than the ZPA.”

“To be blunt, Sir, they didn’t much care about my credentials. They were just happy they didn’t have to take on another fox.”

The buffalo looked at her, contemplating, his eyes softening for less than half a second before he became emotionless once more.

“Go home, Hopps.”

Her mouth dropped open, “But-”

Bogo raised a hoof placatingly, “Take the rest of the day off, tomorrow too. I’m taking it from your vacation time, so you’ll still get paid. I want you to use this time to get the situation together, figure out finances and who’s going to look after the kit while you’re on duty.” He delicately placed his reading glasses back on the bridge of his snout, eyes already lowered back to the papers he still held in his hooves, “I don’t want to see you until then, sitting front and center in the bull pen for roll call.”

With the situation handled, the buffalo went back to reading, the rabbit officer already fading from his mind.

Judy blinked as she stared at the chief, she opened her mouth, closed it, and nodded her head. Quietly slipping off the, for her, oversized chair, she adjusted her grip on Robin and shouldered the duffle bag.

***

Standing just outside of the precinct, below the steps, Judy felt a little lost. There was so much she had to figure out and get done in so little time that it overwhelmed her. Without some type of plan or schedule, all of the things she had to do raced through her mind, all important but none taking hold as they fought against each other.

Judy began walking down the street aimlessly. Her meeting with Bogo over what she decided to do had all but eclipsed everything else. Now that it had passed and she was relatively unscathed, Judy was couldn’t figure out what she should pursue next.

The automatic tightening of her arms when the kit began to struggle had her glancing down to see what had caused the foxes excitement. Yipping, Robin’s paws were pointing toward a small park they Judy had been unaware they were even passing. Tree’s and other greenery dominated the small grove, a jungle gym sitting in the center with multiple benches placed strategically around it for parents to keep an eye on their kits as they played.

Knowing that they really didn’t have time to stop and smell the flowers with only a day and a half to make some semblance of a game plan, Judy was about to keep walking when she paused. The park was nearly deserted, only a couple lion children running around as their father fiddled with his phone on a nearby bench. It looked peaceful and as good a place as any to get her thoughts in order for a few minutes until they began their trek.

Smiling down at the red fox in her arms, Judy softly complimented him, “Good eye, Bottlebrush.”

The nickname fell from her tongue without intention. Other than Robin’s eyes, his red fluffy tail, tipped in dark brown, was his most dominating feature. The kit had tended to keep the red appendage close to his body, especially in distress, liking the soft comfort it provided. Judy found such sights endearing, holding a paw over her heart as she let out an uncontrollable ‘aww’ every time the little fox used his own tail as a plush toy.

Mulling over the term of endearment her mind had come up with of its own accord as she made her way down to a secluded bench, Judy decided she like it.

The rabbit sat on the weather worn, wooden bench with a sigh. Duffle bag placed beside her, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. The cool breeze made her feel refreshed after all the activity of the past few hours and she let her long ears dangle behind her on the bench.

Eyes still closed, Judy felt Robin burrow into her chest and lay still. The fox kit was most likely exhausted from this morning events as well and probably needed a good nap before he began to get cranky. Not moving so as to keep from disturbing the drifting fox, Judy figured her first course of action would be to get back to her apartment. There she could drop of the cumbersome duffle bag and look up daycares. She’d have to do a bit of research on the process and the individual centers as she had no knowledge to rely on in such areas. In Bunnyburrow, kits were taken care of at home by older siblings or just brought out into the field as the parents worked. With families being as large as they were, there was always someone to take care of another.

“Oh my God!” A shrill, female voice exclaimed, “It’s you! Hi!” Came the call from a few feet to her right.

Judy’s body jerked at the unexpected noise, eyes popping open to bright sunlight only to be cast in shadow a moment later.

Blinking at the sudden darkness, Judy looked up and kept looking up until her neck was tilted halfway back. Standing a foot in front of her was a massive polar bear dressed in an expensive looking black suit despite being in the middle of a public park.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Okay_ , she thought, _for some reason I_ really _doubt that_ that _voice came from this guy_.

She was still staring at him quizzically when movement caught her eye. Head coming partly back down, Judy noticed that one of the bear’s arms was now extended in front of him, palming facing upward. The movement that had caught her attention was that of a franticly waving hand attached to a pregnant shrew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your Kudos and Comments, they never fail to help motivate and inspire me!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

It took Judy a moment, but her mind quickly brought forth the memory of where she knew the female shrew from. It had been one of her ‘insubordination’ moments during her first few weeks on the force. To be fair, Judy hadn’t been looking for suspicious mammals or anything of the sort at the time, but instead filling out her daily quota of parking tickets.

The rabbit officer had just finished tucking a ticket beneath the wipers of a blue, mouse-sized vehicle whose meter had timed out not half a minute ago, when the subtle groan of metal about to give caused one of her ears to flick up in attention. Still in her crouched position next to the car, Judy turned her head in the direction of the noise. The tall iron gate of Little Rodentia was just a sidewalk away from the rabbit and, at her current distance, Judy had a clear view of the small town.

Seeing a few pieces of construction equipment surrounding a sizeable donut shop, Judy vaguely recalled hearing a ZNN segment about a mouse construction company being sued for cutting corners, resulting in multiple unstable buildings. _Something about a good kick being able to knock the whole thing over like a line of dominos_ , she remembered.

A quick glance at the scene had her comprehending what had happened. The yellow arm of a crane was pressed flush with the large, ornamental donut situated above the donut shop, the metal rope and hook swinging wildly from stopped momentum. The mouse sitting in front of the controls was frantically jerking the knob to regain power over the machine but it was clear the arm of the crane had picked up quite a bit of speed before slamming into ‘The Big Donut’.

As the metallic groan of failing metal reached a crescendo, Judy’s eyes picked up the slow shift of the donut as it leaned into one of the side supports before it broke. Her eyes widened at the sound of metal snapping and, without thinking, ran back a few steps before stream lining toward the small entrance of Little Rodentia. Sliding along the ground, Judy cleared the gate, loosing her hat in the process, and jumped to her feet. Head swiveling to get the donut back in her line of sight, Judy found it just as it first hit the ground, propelling back into the air, sure to pick up momentum as it travelled down the flat street.

Shedding the cumbersome vest as she ran, Judy intercepted the donut, hugging it to her chest midair, just as it was about to hit a screaming shrew. They didn’t have time for more than a brief interaction before McHorn, who had been patrolling the area at the time, was calling her over to where he stood grasping the gate. He had demanded she come with him to the station to report the incident to Bogo, who was none to pleased at the situation and desperately tried to figure out a way he could fire her for it. She had not only ‘abandoned her post’ but ‘incited a scurry’ by charging after the donut. He couldn’t gain much traction, however, since she had ‘abandoned her post’ to save lives at risk and the ‘scurry’ had been incited more by the piece of building freely rolling along the streets. That didn’t stop Bogo from upping her daily ticket count in spite.

Judy blinked a few times as the memory faded, now looking at a pregnant version of the same shrew she had saved from the flailing donut.

“Uh,” Judy began in answer, “Hi?” She returned the wave, still slightly thrown by her sudden appearance.

“Oh my God!” She reiterated, “This is so crazy! I have been hoping that I’d bump into you again but it’s been, like, forever! I thought you had disappeared.”

Judy’s confusion grew. _The shrew had been looking for her? Was that a good thing or a bad thing?_ The rabbit’s eyes flicked up to the stoic face of the mountain sized polar bear that held the shrew, and she became slightly nervous.

“No, not disappeared. Just really busy with work and recently-” Her head gestured toward her son, still snoozing blissfully against her neck.

“Oh!” She gasped, little hands coming up to cover her mouth as she finally took notice of the kit in her arms, “Who’s this? Isn’t he just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, Kevin?” The question, directed to the mammal holding her, was answered by a small nod, expression unchanging. The shrew didn’t seem to notice, not even bothering to look to him for his response.

“Thanks.” Judy warmed at the complement directed at Robin, spine unconsciously straitening, “His name is Robin, he’s my son.”

Though Bogo now knew that she had adopted the fox kit, the shrew was the first person she had blatantly told that Robin was her son. Her heart constricted with emotion for a moment, and Judy forgot to breath.

The small mammal’s eyes widened at the statement but she didn’t seem to give off any ill will at the new information, “You adopted a fox kit?” Her smile filled with warmth toward Judy as she nodded in conformation, “That is just the sweetest thing. I’ve seen first hand what a raw deal certain species get in life because of perpetuated stereotypes, foxes especially. I’m so happy that the mammal who saved my life has such a kind soul.”

Heat rose in the bunny’s cheeks at the praise and she dipped her head in embarrassment, “I only did what was right.” She confessed to the shrew.

“You say that like it’s nothing, but let me tell you, lots of people faced with the same choice of doing what is right don’t choose the same path, even if it is within their capacity to do so.” She bobbed her head to assert her words, Judy only smiling in response.

“So, what are you and Robin doing about? Relaxing stroll through the park on your day off?”

“That’s so far out of the realm of possibility right now, it’s unbelievable.” Judy shook her head, “I actually just adopted him this morning so the chief let me have today and tomorrow off to figure out the necessities but I’m so overwhelmed I don’t even know where to start. I’m mostly worried about finding someone to look after him while I’m at work. I can’t afford to take time off or spend half of my pay check on a sitter. On top of that, I’m scared about leaving him with someone who might end up being prejudiced against foxes.”

“I know what you mean,” The shrew caressed her swollen belly as she spoke, “This is my first baby too and my husband and I are at our wits end trying to make sure everything is ready before she arrives. At least we have these months to plan though, you were just dropped in the deep end. That’s why I’m here with Kevin, actually.” She continued, “I was hoping to get away from the craziness and maybe find a nice playground for her. Daddy wants me to choose one early so he can have Kevin and Raymond scout the area for a few weeks.”

Her head suddenly snapped up from gazing adoringly at her baby bump, “Oh my God! This is perfect! Once Daddy found out you were a cop, he knew he couldn’t approach you to properly repay the debt our family owes you for saving me. When I got pregnant and we were told it was going to be a girl, I decided I’d name her Judy to honour you as a compromise for being unable to fulfill the debt. But now I also have a way to repay you! We went through an extensive hiring process the moment I found out I was with child for a live-in nanny. She’s already moved into the estate and is on stand-by for when little Judy finally comes. We can have her look after Robin, and little Judy when she arrives, while you’re at work! She’s the best mammal out there for the job and it won’t cost you a cent. I can even have our driver, Mr. Manches, sent to pick up and drop off Robin every day at your home. Oh!” She practically squealed, “Daddy is going to be so pleased I found a way to repay you!”

Judy was leaning back against the bench by the end of the shrew’s speech, eyes wide in alarm by all the information being presented to her. Trying to sort it all out in her mind, one piece of her statement kept circling back to the forefront of the bunny’s mind.

“How do you know my name?”

She stilled, sucking in a sharp breath as a realization struck, “We never ended up going through introductions! I only know your name because Daddy had you researched after you saved me so that we could find you to repay the debt, which didn’t end up happening, like you know. I’m Fru Fru, but everyone just calls me Fru.” She smiled at Judy but the rabbits mind was still racing.

Being able to put together the facts presented into a logical story line is part of what made Judy such a good cop. Between the way Fru Fru was talking about her dad, the need to repay a debt, scoping out of a public park, and the ominous polar bear standing two feet from her, Judy would bet her father’s prized carrot that they were part of the mob.

It wasn’t exactly the best idea for a cop to get mixed up in the mob and, by the sounds of it, the mob boss’s family. Judy’s instinctual response was to remove herself from the whole situation but she didn’t even get her mouth open before her brain stopped her. _What choice did she really have? She was stuck between a rock and a hard place with no where to turn to. Judy knew for a fact that she couldn’t afford to take anytime off work and child care rates were through the roof._

Not able to believe her own thoughts, Judy had to shake her head. That didn’t change the rational, though. A saving grace had come to her in the form of the daughter of a mob boss and Judy was hard pressed to take the offer.

“That would actually be really great,” Judy finally, slowly, admitted, “You would save me from so much trouble and worry over finding someone trustworthy. I can’t even-” She had to stop for her voice had become shaky with emotion. As the bunny had spoke, the realization of what this new development actually meant for her, caused a huge weight to lift from her shoulders. Immense relief flooded her to replace the worry that had plagued her and Judy found herself unable to speak past the lump forming in her throat.

Fru cooed at Judy, trying to sooth the emotion bunny, “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to think about this anymore. Not only is this the right thing to do, but this will help alleviate our family’s debt to you. Daddy will make sure everything is taken care of. Here,” She pulled out her cellphone, “give me your number so I can text you all the details tomorrow and you can let me know where you want Robin to be picked up.”

Breathing deeply, Judy listed off her cell phone number. Five seconds later, her ears picked up the ding of an incoming text message, no doubt from Fru so as to pass along her number.

At that moment, Kevin hunched the top half of his body so as to whisper by Fru Fru’s ear. Though only a couple feet away, the murmur was indiscernible to Judy who was currently rubbing her stinging eyes with the heel of her palm.

She saw Fru nod in response to whatever had been said before she turned her gaze back to Judy as Kevin straightened once more.

“We have to head back to the estate now. Kevin doesn’t like being this exposed for so long in a place he hasn’t scouted yet. Try not to stress too much; if you ever need girl talk, you can call me anytime.”

Kevin stretched his arm straight out from where it had been partially bent by his waist, leveling his hand so Fru was five inches from Judy’s face. Leaning forward herself, careful not to disturb Robin, she placed a delicate kiss on each of the shrew’s cheeks before sitting back and waving goodbye as the polar bear turned them down the path.

***

With one of her more pressing issues now taken care of, Judy left the park in a much more optimistic sate of mind with Robin situated against her hip. It only took her fifteen minutes from hopping aboard the next bus going in her direction to reach her street.

She took in a deep breath as the door swung open to reveal her tiny apartment. Nothing had changed from where she had left it this morning, yet there was an essence about it that made Judy feel like she was looking at the room for the first time. The sad state alarmed her more than it ever had before as she again took in the rickety bed and greasy walls. The trip down memory lane had her remembering the other, less than appealing, aspect of the apartment: crazy neighbours. Not just crazy neighbours, but _loud_ neighbours that often times got into heated arguments during the middle of the night. She gazed down at a now wide awake fox kit as his blue eyes also spanned the small space. Judy supposed that her new apprehension at her living space came from her mother’s instinct to protect and provide. This was no place to raise a kit.

She was more understanding now of her parent’s initial shock and rejection of her choice in housing when she had panned her phone across the room during one of their Muzzle Time calls. Her parents, not wanting her to move to the city in the first place, had used the conditions she was living in as another point for her to return to the farm. Now facing the same situation, Judy couldn’t hold the argument against them.

To be fair, the bunny had just picked the cheapest available place that was a reasonable distance from her work. And when she saw the room in person for the first time, she was just so happy to finally be on her own and making her dream come true that she ignored the reality of what she was dealing with.

Judy decided there and then that any free time she had would be in looking up appropriate and affordable housing. She wanted to be able to settle Robin in as soon as possible; having this much instability at such a young age wasn’t good for him.

Finally getting to liberate herself of the extra weight she was lugging around all morning, Judy dropped the duffle bag on her desk chair before placing the kit on the side of the bed closest to the wall so he’d have less chance of rolling off.

Unzipping the bag, she first placed all the legal documents in a neat pile on the corner of her desk to file away later. Judy then unpacked the few articles of clothing she had found of the kits and put them in her hamper to wash when she got back, making sure to note the size so she could pick up a few more when they went out. Lastly, she set the half-empty tin of powdered baby formula on the desk before closing the now empty bag and stuffing it under the desk.

Amethyst eyes going back to the formula, it occurred to her that she didn’t know how often fox kits needed to eat, but if they were similar to rabbit kits, it would be often. Judy had just turned to the alarm clock to see how long it had been since she had given him the last pre-made bottle when her ears pricked at the sound of a low whine coming from behind her.

Eyes closing as she winced, Judy slowly glanced over her shoulder to take in the site of Robin’s face scrunching up before he let out an audible cry. Moving swiftly to the bed, the rabbit picked up the tiny fox and began to bounce him gently while whispering soothing words. The cries became louder. Hopping back to the desk, she grasped the tin in one paw and moved it so that it sat against her in the crook of her arm, freeing her hand to take one of the used bottles and her keys to lock the door as she left.

Jogging down the flights of stairs, Judy skidded into the communal kitchen that was mercifully empty. After skimming over the instructions listed along the side of the tin, she set the formula and bottle on the counter before yanking open the bottom cupboards and taking out a medium sized pot. Filling it with cool water, she set one of the back burners on the outdated stove to high and put the pot down to boil.

Still swaying her hips to calm down the hungry infant, she swiped the bottle from where she had set it down and brought it to the sink to make sure it was thoroughly cleaned for the new food. Judy made sure to pat it dry with paper towel before placing it back on the counter, on top another paper sheet, and then twirled on the heel of one foot to a cupboard on the opposite side of the room. Dragging a chair over so as to be capable of reaching the top shelf, she pulled out a measuring cup and jumped down from her perch to prepare the amount of formula needed just as the water started to boil.

Twisting the stove dial to the ‘off’ position, Judy moved the pot to the unused front burner to cool down for a few minutes. Robin was still wailing in her ear and Judy was near tears herself, more out of frustration than anything else. As a bunny coming from a traditionally large family, she had more experience than she could list dealing with cranky kits but this was different. This kit was her son; her son who was crying his eyes out because she had forgotten to feed him and now had his small stomach clenching in hunger.     

Judy blinked in rapid succession to keep the tears at bay; it would do no one good for both of them to be crying. Once the rabbit estimated enough time had passed, she poured the water from the pot into the bottle before stirring in the powdered formula. Quickly screwing on the cap, she did a quick wrist check to make sure the temperature was okay for him before placing the bottle’s nipple lightly against his muzzle.

Paws immediately raising to grasp the bottle to him, Robin began to drink deeply and his crying ceased, though tear tracks still lined both sides of his face. Letting out a relieved sigh, Judy raised a paw to wipe away the salt water and smiled down at the kit.

Putting the pot in the strainer to dry as it had only been used to boil water, the bunny picked the tin back up and made her way back to her apartment. It amazed her that all the noise Robin had been making hadn’t caused any of the resident mammals to come and investigate. Judy could only assume the early afternoon hour meant many of them were out and about the city, most probably at their jobs. Whatever the case, Judy was thankful that she wouldn’t have to explain the fox kits presence just yet, especially as he had been so upset just then, and have to deal with the inevitable gossip of her neighbours.

She figured she’d have to tell her landlady sooner rather than later about the new addition to the building. In any case, she couldn’t do anything about it. Though private businesses could reserve the right to discriminate who they serviced, it was illegal in Zootopia for mammals to be refused the right to buy or rent property based on their species. Though Judy was certain that didn’t stop it from happening. The rabbit decided she’d bite the bullet, so to speak, and visit the old armadillo as she made her way out to gather kit supplies.

Satisfied with her plan of action, Judy held Robin cradled in the crook of one arm as she sat at her desk and pulled out her cellphone so she could pull up the ever faithful, Zoogle. Doing a basic search of fox kits she found many similarities in caring for them with what she knew from caring for her siblings. Both foxes and bunnies required extra care to make sure their teeth were well maintained, though they had different measures to procure it. Additionally, while both species required certain vitamins found in vegetables, foxes were omnivore’s. That meant Judy would need to procure formula that offered the nutrients given to foxes when they ate fish or bug meat products as well as vegetables.

She then made sure to look up the different types of fox baby formula’s available, what benefits each one offered and their varying prices. By the time Judy looked up from her phone, Robin had long since finished the bottle, which had fallen and rolled toward the door without her notice.

Shifting to burp the kit, Judy set about getting ready to leave for the evening. She picked up the bottle from the floor, made quick work of changing Robin’s diaper, and stuffed her phone, which housed her credit card behind the case, into her back pocket.

Door half open, Judy suddenly realized she was till in her uniform. She didn’t want to have to go through the trouble of changing but the idea of gaining more attention than she already would be with Robin in her arms had her closing the door again. After pulling on a fresh pair of leggings and a lilac tank top, Judy folded her uniform to put away for when she went back to work in a couple days. Laying her utility belt on top of the pile had her pausing as noticed the Fox Away still strapped in one of it’s loops. Judy’s pink nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight and she quickly unhooked the offending object, paw tightening in anger that such a thing existed. Not wanting it in her apartment, even if laying in the trash can, the bunny held onto it as she lifted Robin back into her arms from where she had laid him back on the bed.

Locking the door behind her, Judy strode purposefully past the staircase to the center of the hallway where a slim door was situated in-between two other apartments. Utilizing her shoulder to shove the heavy door open, she pulled open the garbage chute door, threw the can inside, and let it slam shut again. The rabbit opened the chute a couple seconds later just to make sure it was truly gone. Seeing the dark, empty space, she was able to breath easier knowing it was gone from her person.

Leaving the small space, she headed back toward the staircase and looked down at the kit in her arms. Robin was in much better spirits now that he was fed and had one arm wrapped around Judy’s neck to keep close to her warm comfort.

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, especially not with an Anti-Fox product.” Leaning down to nuzzle the top of his head, the bunny made sure to scent mark him for good measure.

Robin giggled in response to the ticklish sensation and almost made Judy miss the first step down the stairs when he spontaneously licked her cheek in affection.

Hitting the ground floor, Judy turned toward her landlady’s own apartment room to get the news out in the open. Standing back a pace after she gave the wooden door a few hard raps, the bunny held her breath. Her long ears picked up movement a moment later and Judy was soon standing face to face with the old armadillo.

“I hope you didn’t loose your key!” Came the immediate response to the sight of the small rabbit.

Taken aback, Judy’s eyes darted from her, to Robin, and back to her.

“Uh, no.” She began at the accusation, “I just wanted to inform you that I have recently adopted a kit and so now there will be two residence in the apartment I leased from you.”   

Mrs. Armadillo’s eyebrows rose at the development. She raised a paw to adjust her glasses in an effort to better take in the kit in her arms. Taking in the long tail and red fur, her eyes moved back to stare Judy in the face above the rim of her glasses.

“The complimentary delousing is still only once a month.” Was her only response.

When Judy couldn’t think of anything to retort, the old armadillo continued, “Is that all?”

Nodding silently, her landlady concluded their conversation, “Just don’t loose your key!” And slammed the door in her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support; I love reading your comments and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers! I am sorry about the unusually long wait. The last couple weeks have been completely hectic and I had almost no time to write. Do not fear! The story will continue. I hope you enjoy the chapter!  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

Judy was nothing if not Bunny Scout prepared in everything she perused, which is ironic as she had never been a Scout, instead reading up on old ZPD manuals and cold cases. Note book and trusty carrot pen tucked in her back pocket and Robin sitting on her hip, her first destination was Kits “R” Us.

Stepping through the automatic doors, Judy was overwhelmed by not only the sheer size of the store but all of the options. Having grown up with over a hundred younger siblings, the rabbit was very familiar with kit specialty stores. However, as Bunnyburrow was mainly housed by bunnies, the Kits “R” Us franchise had jumped at the marketing idea of opening a branch dedicated to bunny kits. As such, Judy’s experience was limited to Bunnies “R” Us, where she didn’t need to sift through sections of clothing and necessities made for other mammals. Not that her previous experience would be of much use to her if she happened to find the bunny section as she had no need of it. Judy’s kit was a fox.

Eyes pealed for signs to direct her, Judy navigated through the isles and was able to find the section for small mammals with relative ease. The rabbit actually had to circle the small mammal section twice before she was able to locate the space put aside for fox kits. Looking it over with a critical eye, Judy wasn’t too surprised that she had passed it over the first time. It was small, extremely so. At least half the size of any other mammal section, the options for fox kits was pathetically limited.

Judy sighed at yet another indicant of prejudice against foxes. The less the store offered, the less likely foxes were to come in and shop here for their kits. It was subtle, but the rabbit had seemed to become almost hyper aware of such slights in the last day. It made her paws ball into fists at the injustice of it all, but there wasn’t much she could do about it at the moment. She doubted punching one of the few shelves there were, in her anger, would make her feel better. It might actually make her feel worse for having vandalized what little there was for foxes to choose from.

Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Judy pulled out her note book and pen before taking a closer look at all the items available. Diapers and formula were a must; according to multiple fox kit developmental websites, Robin wouldn’t be eating solid foods for at least another three months. Judy went on to browse through the four selves of clothing, noting sizes and styles that she liked. Keeping a good grip on Robin, who was squirming in impatience and letting out little yips every now and then, she wrote a couple lasts notes down before stuffing both items back in her pocket.

“I know this isn’t the most exciting thing, but it needs to be done” She told Robin definitively.

The kit stopped wiggling long enough to give her an unimpressed look.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Judy huffed, “We just need to look at some crib and stroller options and we’ll go home.”

Spinning on her heel, the rabbit realized just why this section was so small as her eyes failed to find what she was looking for. There were no cribs or strollers of any kind in the section dedicated to fox kits.

To be fair, foxes were relatively the same size as rabbits until early childhood, when they would no longer need a crib or stroller anyway. The principle of the matter still upset Judy, though, as she shuffled a few isles over to where she had briefly glanced bunny items on her way in.

Getting odd looks from bunny mothers who were also shopping for their kits, Judy turned away from the stares. This wasn’t before she caught one bunny pull her kit closer to her side as she looked fearfully at Robin. Upon entering the section, the fox kit had swung his wide gaze from side to side at the sight of more mammals that looked like his mama. He had opened his mouth wide in a giggle when he saw the little bunny kits also running around the isle. It had been in this instant, when Robin, still smiling and looking up at Judy as she turned, that the rabbit cop witnessed this blatant act of protectiveness. Judy wanted to laugh bitterly. Her son was only a month old, didn’t even have his teeth yet, and mammals were treating him as if he could go savage at a moment’s notice.

Resigning herself to only giving a ruefully headshake, her paw flipped the laminated price ticket hanging from the nearest crib. Momentarily forgetting her surroundings, Judy’s head reeled back in shock at the price. It was more than double than any crib sold at Bunnies “R” Us. A quick search of the other cribs proved the same; the strollers were no better.

Judy had known that city stores often inflated their prices, but these prices hadn’t even crossed the outer region of her imagination. She new she would never be able to afford this, especially if she wanted to start saving for a bigger place.

Not daring to turn back to the other rabbits in the store, still feeling their eyes on her back, Judy headed straight for the exit. She could tell the sun was already starting to set through the front windows of the store.

Patting her back pocket to reassure herself her notes were still there, Judy began to make a game plan. The rabbit hadn’t figured on buying anything today anyway, knowing that for tonight she would be fine for absolute necessities. After she put Robin down to sleep, she would make a list of what she needed to buy and how much it would cost her. The bunny also wanted to check out prices for cribs and strollers being sold online; she hoped that they would be more reasonable than what she’d seen so far. It was important that Judy had all her finances in order before she went baby crazy.

Not ten feet from the door, Judy almost tripped over her own feet as her body went to turn before her mind could catch up with her eyes. Near the cash register, were a bored-out-of-her-mind teenage hippo leaned against the counter, was a metal bin filled with mammal plush toys. What had changed her direction mid-stride without her consent was the unmistakable, bright red fur of a fox. Pink nose twitching like mad, Judy inched toward the bin. Looking at the sea of different mammal plush toys, Judy emerged her arm up to the elbow, fishing for her prize. It took a couple tries but she eventually arose victorious, fox plush clutched by the tail.

Eyeing the unbelievably soft toy from stitched on eyes to prevent choking, to pointed ears, to long furry tail, Judy knew she had to have it.

Robin was of a like mind once he saw what Judy had held in her other hand, nearly leaping from her hold to grab the plush toy. Once in his grasp, the kit hugged his toy likeness to himself, hiding his whole face in the crook of its neck like he did with his rabbit mother. This action also let Judy see just how big the toy actually was compared to the kit. Hugged to his chest, the plush was only a couple inches short of being a life-sized replica.

Giggling at the sight, Judy headed to the hippo cashier, who’s bored expression didn’t shift a muscle throughout the whole transaction. The rabbit didn’t much care as she left the store with a brand new plush, one of her guilty pleasures, and headed home with her son.

***

Judy left for the kit store just before noon the next day, Robin again situated on her hip. The trip went blessedly smoothly and Judy was able to pick up everything she had listed out last night in her notebook without breaking her budget, which was already stretched thin.

The rabbit spent a good two hours online, looking at a series of beautiful, wooden cribs and durable strollers; making quick pro/con lists and considering affordability. Judy was just pulling out her credit card when a stray thought halted her progress. _Where was she going to put them?_ Violet eyes scanned the space around her; from the door, the bunny couldn’t take ten steps before hitting the wall. The space, or lack there of, was another reason why she wanted to move as quickly as possible. The problem was, she couldn’t wait until she got a bigger home to buy a crib and stroller. It was dangerous to keep sleeping in the bed with Robin when he was so tiny and carrying the kit in her arms everywhere was tiring.

With these new thoughts in mind, Judy continued her search, but with the added condition that the items had to be relatively small and collapsible. This also wasn’t ideal but Judy saw no other way that she could fit such normally large objects into her small apartment. The bunny would have to set up the crib each night and take it down each morning; the same for whenever she used the stroller. The collapsible style of furniture also wasn’t the safest but Judy again saw no way around it. The rabbit vowed that she would replace both items once she secured a larger apartment.

Not long later, she was able to find both a collapsible crib and stroller in excellent condition during her online exploration, at a practical price. Though still not as cheap as Judy would have hoped, especially as she would be getting rid of them as soon as possible, she had learned to lower her expectations. According to the web site, they would be shipped to the apartment in five to seven business days. Until then, Judy took extra precaution that the tiny fox wouldn’t roll off the bed or be squished under her in her sleep.

Coming home from their shopping spree, mother and son weren’t so lucky as yesterday to avoid the other residence of the Grand Pangolin Arms. They actually had the worst luck as the residence they bumped into were the loudest of the apartment. With Bucky and Pronk in the know, Judy’s new situation wouldn’t remain peaceful for long.

Key already in the lock, the rabbit had been a hair’s breadth from escaping their notice when they turned down the hall. Shielding Robin wasn’t possible as he was on the hip facing the crazy couple and so was also the first thing they saw when they began to walk toward their door. 

Failing at a whisper, Bucky directed toward Pronk, “Am I seeing things, or does the bunny cop have a _fox kit_ in her arms right now?”

Whisper yelling right back, Pronk answered, “No, I see the smallish fox too. Crazy bunny, being a cop and now bringing a fox into her burrow.”

Squeezing her eyes tight in irritation, Judy huffed a breath before turning to her neighbours, leaving the key sitting in the lock.

“I am _not_ crazy. No mammal should be limited by their species in what they can do. _Anyone can be anything_.” She reiterated, “And I know I didn’t get to introduce you yesterday, but this fox is my son, Robin. If you could keep the noise down a bit after dark, that would be really helpful.” Judy tried to finish with a placating smile.

They blinked a her in astonishment for a moment before Bucky titled his head slightly toward Pronk and said out of the side of his mouth, “You’re right, bunny be crazy.”

Though Pronk nodded at the statement, he rebuffed, “Didn’t you hear her! She doesn’t think she’s crazy!”

“She also said to keep quiet!”

“Oh, shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

Shaking her head, Judy turned back to face her door, twisted the key and entered her apartment. Setting down all her bags the rabbit saw her neighbours still going at it as she closed her door, muffling the shouts from her sensitive ears.

***

All too fast for her liking, Judy’s day and a half reprieve from work came to a close and she had to ready a bag for Robin’s time with the sitter. Making sure to write a note for Fru’s live-in sitter, she detailed feeding and nap times that she had been trying to make into a routine for the kit. Having a horde of baby bunnies living at home during anyone one time has taught that at least; kits need routine.

After her neighbours stopped bickering long enough that she could get Robin to sleep, Judy had pulled out her cell phone and texted Fru Fru. Knowing that she needed her sleep for work tomorrow, the bunny kept the exchange short. Thanking the shrew again for her generosity, she went on to list the best time for Robin to be picked up and what time would be most ideal for him to be dropped off. Fru’s confirming text dinged not a minute later, letting her know that she was happy to provide this service and that Mr. Manchas would be waiting out front at the appointed time.

With a sigh, Judy hefted the duffle bag, a smaller one than what she was using a couple days ago as Fru had reassured the rabbit mother that they would supply all necessities for Robin when in their care. That didn’t stop Judy from packing two extra sets of clothes and a couple extra diapers, just in case.

She worried that Robin would get anxious away from her so long after what he went through. Since the incident, the fox kit hadn’t left her sight for more than a few minutes at a time and seemed to have developed a deep attachment to her. Though Judy knew she couldn’t do much to stop such panic from arising in her son, she did have one trick up her sleeve.

Rabbits are very social creatures and, when first born, are completely helpless and blind. The kits rely heavily on their other senses to help orient themselves and seek comfort from their mother. Unlike in the stone age, many rabbit mothers can’t spend weeks doing nothing but cuddling their litters. This raised some problems as the kits still needed that sense of security and so something had to be done. What Judy’s mother did for all her kits when she had to be out working the field, and what all the rabbit women in her ancestry did, was scent mark a soft, beloved object so that the kit was able to get security from their mother’s sent while clinging to the objects warmth.

This helpful trick has helped rabbit mothers continue to work after giving birth, for generations. _Now, to choose an object._ Judy’s thought process was interrupted by the ding of her cell phone. Taping the notification that lit up her lock screen to directly open up the text, Judy scanned Fru’s message.

‘Our driver should be pulling up front in five minutes. Have a good day back and don’t worry about Robin!’

Judy smiled slightly at the shrew’s words and quickly replied with a confirmation. Hitting the home button, she was about to stuff her phone away when her eyes caught on the screen saver. The rabbit’s front teeth were on full display as her smile widened to the point of looking painful.

The screen displayed a picture of Robin she had just taken last night. Between the time of entering the apartment and putting Robin down to sleep for the night, Judy had fed, washed, and changed the fox into a light green onesie. Still hearing Bucky and Pronk arguing over their earlier quarrel, she sat the kit up on the bed, back supported by a raised pillow, as she knew Robin wouldn’t fall asleep with the noise.

With a little bit of time on her paws, Judy began to sort and put away the items she had purchased for Robin. Folding the last shirt with military precision, she looked around the room in satisfaction, hands on hips as she nodded her head. That’s when her eyes, not for the first time, caught on the red fur of the fox plush that sat forlornly on her desk. The rabbit gently picked up the toy and stared into its black stitched eyes. The soft texture reminded Judy of her own rabbit plush collection; she had piled all the toy bunnies on the floor, in the corner of the room. Though they were a great comfort to Judy in her city isolation, she didn’t want Robin to accidently suffocate in his sleep if he rolled into one.

She walked over to them now, plucking her favorite from the top of the pile where it had kept watch over them last night. Crinkled ‘ZPD Junior Detective’ sticker still stubbornly attached to its shirt, Judy delicately adjusted the costume police hat on it’s head, the same one she wore the majority of her childhood.

A coo from beside her had Judy turning to the bed. Robin’s bright blue eyes were fixated on the two plush mammals in the bunny’s hand and his tiny paws grasped the air in front of his face as if he could grab them from where he sat.

Chuckling at his look of awe, Judy came to crouch in front of the bed, at eye level with her son.

“Do you like them?” She cooed right back, placing the toys beside his feet. She took one of his paws and placed it on the fox plush.

“See? Feel how soft they are.” The kits mouth formed a small ‘O’ shape in astonishment.

“Do you know who he looks like?” Judy lifted the fox plush and lightly kissed it’s nose with Robin’s, before putting it back on the bed. Robin’s eyes grew large, whole upper body reeling back at the touch, before he looked up at his mother and let out a little giggle.

“That’s right!” Judy laughed, “He looks like you!”

With the kit blissfully distracted, Judy took the opportunity to turn around and grab a set of sweats and a tank top to change into for bed. Swinging back around when she was done, the rabbit took a step toward the bed before she halted at the sight before her.

Robin had apparently lost interest with his look-a-like, as it now sat precariously on the edge of the bed, most likely tossed there by her son. What froze Judy, however, was what the fox kit was currently doing. Still sitting propped up by the pillows, Robin had her favourite bunny plush clutched in his arms. The toy police hat had somehow ended up off the plush and was now situated on the kits head. Hat absolutely drowning him, the kit made an inquiring noise at the sudden darkness, shaking his head in an effort to return the sight that had been taken from him by the hat. Finally jerking his head upward, the kit was able to push the hat up his face, only to get caught on the crook of his ears. Judy’s son sat with robin egg blue eyes looking up at her from just under the rim of her old toy police hat, still clutching the grey plush bunny to his chest, and smiled.

Judy was pretty sure her heart stopped for a moment as her deep sense of affection and care for this fox kit rooted in her and sprouted into a mother’s love.

The rabbit had just enough sense to quickly pull out her phone and take a couple pictures before Robin tossed his head a couple more times, finally succeeding in dislodging the hat from his head.

Presently, Judy turned her phone off before moving to her desk where both plush mammals lay. Picking up the grey, police bunny plush, she firmly chinned the toy so that it was saturated in her sent. Gently placing it in the bag for if ever Robin needed her, she made sure to add directions for the sitter in case of such a situation.

Glancing at the alarm clock, Judy realized she had run out of time. If she didn’t leave to hand off Robin now, she would be late for work, and on her first day back too. Seeing no use in prolonging the inevitable, Judy made sure the strap of the duffle bag lay securely on her shoulder before picking up a sleepy Robin and making her way downstairs.

***

All things considered, Judy was fairing pretty well. Her first day back was more than a little jarring as, walking into the precinct, she felt like a completely different mammal than she was three days ago. To be fair, in some respects, she was. It wasn’t like Judy had gotten a new fur cut, she had adopted a kit. Motherhood wasn’t a change that had no effect on a mammal, bunny woman especially felt a deep connection with their instincts upon having children, as reproduction was a large part of their culture.

Since Judy spent her morning making sure Robin would be okay at Fru’s (and getting a little emotional when leaving him with the driver, much to her embarrassment) she had to head straight into the bull pen to avoid being late, waving at Clawhauser’s attempt to get her attention as she passed the front desk. Thought he bubbly cheetah was the only one at the precinct that the bunny cop would call a friend, she was a little apprehensive about telling him why, exactly, she wasn’t at work the last two days. With his love for anything adorable, she was positive he would gush at the sight of her son, even if he was a fox. No, what worried her is that Ben was also the precinct gossip queen. He didn’t do it to be cruel, Judy didn’t think he had a malicious bone in his body, he just couldn’t help but share his thoughts on any subject.

Entering the bull pen a minute before roll call, the rabbit wasn’t surprised that no one seemed to care (or maybe even noticed) her absence. The officers around her continued to chat and joke around her until the chief entered the room. Judy’s spine straightened when the chief’s dark eyes flit to her, hands folded in front of her on the desk, before his gaze left her as soon as it landed.

Bogo managed to shock her and everyone else when, after going over the docket, he assigned Judy a patrol. Well, not a real patrol. She wouldn’t be getting a patrol car or a partner, and it was in one of the safest parts of the city. She would still be doing parking duty in the afternoons, but for the first half of her shift she would walk the beat.

Judy couldn’t believe her ears, which currently lay against her back from when they fell there in her shock. Mind racing in disbelief and heart thumping in excited joy, Judy didn’t realize the other officers had left for their shifts until Bogo cleared his throat in front of her. Eyes snapping to his, he spoke.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to understand you Hopps. What I do understand is that to raise a kit by yourself in the city takes money. Money that won’t come unless you advance in your career and to do that, you need experience.” He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Judy from above the rim of his reading glasses.

Once she nodded in understanding, he gathered up the documents he needed for the day and left the room. And everyday since, for the last two weeks, had been the same.

Judy was jolted out of her musings by the ringing of her phone as it echoed around the apartment. Glancing at the device laying before where she sat in her desk chair, she saw the smiling faces of her parents beaming up at her.

The bunny’s head snapped around to glance at her bed, checking to see if the sudden noise had roused the fox kit snoozing on it. That was another issue. Judy still hadn’t been able to find a good time to tell her parents about Robin and with each day that passed, it seemed even more impossible. For the last two weeks Judy had made sure their nightly phone call happened on her terms. Preferably, the bunny would rush home and talk to them in between then and when Mr. Manchas returned with Robin. In the times when she couldn’t make that time frame, she would put the kit to bed a bit early, making sure he was in a deep sleep, before calling her parents to avoid the sound of the incoming call from startling him awake. This had worked so far as her son blessedly loved his sleep and only seemed to wake at loud, sudden noises (like the one time she accidently knocked the chair over) or actually being shaken awake.

As another ring reverberated around the room, Judy frantically went to answer it, glancing at the time as she did so. She was shocked to see how late it actually was; she usually set up the crib and put Robin to sleep long before now. Work was extremely busy today and the bunny had barley gotten home in time to collect the fox coming back from the sitter. Judy could only assume she’d been so tired she sat half asleep at her desk, not feeling the time as it passed.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about what if’s, though, as she plastered on a big smile not a second before she was greeted with the faces of Bonnie and Stu Hopps.

“Oh, hey! Mom and dad! How’s it going?”

The bunnies on the screen smiled in relief at the sight of their daughter, “There she is! I told you she was fine Stu.”

“Well, how are we supposed to know?” Her dad countered, “With her doing all that dangerous police work lately, anything could happen!” That last part sounded just this side of hysteria.

“Don’t listen to your father, Bun. We’re happy you’re living your dream just, you know, terrified.”

“You guys worry too much, I’m completely fine. I just had a really long day and didn’t notice how late it got.” She tries to calm their imaginations before they think up of more horrible, completely unlikely, scenarios of her on the job.

“Oh, I’m sorry Bun Bun. We just wanted to check in but I don’t want to keep you from your sleep. We didn’t wake you, did we?”

“No, I was just resting a bit here. It’s actually good you called, I think I almost fell asleep here.” She chuckled lightly, the tiredness in her voice notable.

“You’re bed’s right behind you, Jude.” Her father pointed out, looking toward the corner of the screen where part of the bed was visible, “If you were that tired, why didn’t you just-”

Her dad stops talking, pink noise twitching as he squints at the screen. Confused, Judy turns to look behind her, mind working slower with her exhaustion. That was her fatal mistake. By turning away from the screen, she gave her father enough of a view of the bed to see what she herself had not picked up on.

Face still out of view of the screen, she looked in horror at her bed where Robin, now awake, kicked his legs and waved his fists in agitation. The ringing must have roused him enough that the rabbit’s conversation completely woke him. Seeing his mother’s eyes on him, he left out a happy yip and now reached toward her instead of flailing his limbs in any which direction.

“Jude,” She heard her father’s voice whisper behind her, “Don’t move. I don’t know how, but a fox got into your apartment, probably while you were sleeping. Don’t get close to it, he’s too young to do much but by the looks of it, he’s not old enough to realize you’re not dinner, yet.”

Judy closed her eyes and winced, not just at his words but at what she was going to have to tell them. Turning back around to face her parents, she went to speak before her dad addressed her again.

“Quick now, Judy. Where’s the Fox Away I gave you? Get it ready in case he tries to come at you.” He urged his daughter.

Said bunny froze mid-turn, not even breathing. Then, slowly, her head finished its journey to face the phone screen. Her lips drew back, baring her buck teeth, in a silent, protective, _predatory_ snarl.

“What did you just say?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your comments! I know my extended absence worried some readers about me continuing the story and even though I couldn't write for awhile due to other commitments, I made sure to read your comments and they made my day :)  
> And, for your patience, something to look forward to: Nick will be making an appearance soon (not in the next chapter but definitely in the next three or four).


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

Stu leaned back from the screen, a look of concern etching his features at the sight of his daughter’s rage. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, nothing coming out, as he tried to understand Judy’s reaction. Finally finding the words he wanted to say, he was about to speak when Bonnie wacked him over the head with a paw.

Smarting, Stu tenderly rubbed the back of his head as his eyes shifted to the indignity form of his wife. The Hopps matriarch stood, back straight, arms folded, and foot tapping as she squinted her eyes at the buck she had married.

“The fox is just a baby Stu!” She admonished, “I won’t have you talking like that. Fox Away was created with adults in mind, spraying the kit could seriously hurt him.”

The brown rabbit cast his eyes down in slight shame, though it didn’t stop him from raising his head a moment later to counter, “It can’t be _that_ young. I mean, holy cripes, Bon! The fox got into our daughter’s apartment. Did you see the way it was grabbing for her? The little one’s have claws too, you know.”

Bonnie didn’t say a word to her husband’s argument but the glare she gave him spoke volumes. Brown eyes watching his wife warily, the buck decided it was in his best interests to keep quiet for the moment.  

Shaking her head with a sigh, Bonnie turned back to her phone screen, where the image of a beyond angered Judy greeted her.

“Don’t listen to your father, sweetheart. He’s just been worried about you, all alone in the city. Seeing the fox right behind you there scared him a bit; it was unexpected. You’ve always been so excepting and we’re are so proud of that. It’s harder for your dad, and sometimes he can be an idiot, but he’s trying.”

Judy scoffed, disbelieving, “Somehow, I doubt that.”

The bitter anger that still coated her voice had Stu piping back up, “Hey, now. I have been trying.” His eyes softened with his tone, “Really, Jude. Seeing you go out into Zootopia, not letting the dangers hold you back, it’s hard. I’ve always been a worry-buck and, most days, you worry me more than anything else.” Judy’s eyes remained cold steel as her father took a breath, “But, you’re still there and you’re still safe. Seeing all the good you’re doing is why we’ve been discussing the possibility of expanding the business, partnering with other mammals.” He bit his bottom lip, “Even predators.”

Judy was shocked at Stu’s speech, the bubbling anger in her brought down to a simmer. His initial words at seeing Robin still echoed in her head but the buck’s sincere message had begun to placate her protective, motherly instincts. In this small lull in conversation, where Stu looked pleadingly at his daughter and Judy remained impassive, the small fox made himself known again.

Robin wasn’t too pleased with being woken from his sleep and, to add insult to injury, his mama wasn’t paying any attention to him. The kit knew she had seen him, but instead of coming to rock him back to sleep like usual, she had turned her back to him. Brows pinching in annoyance, the red fox gave a yelping cry and began squirming in earnest.  

At the sound of Robin’s whine, Judy shifted her gaze to the kit before quickly looking back at her phone to see her parents’ reactions. They seemed a bit startled, as if they had momentarily forgot what had made their call so heated, and she was pretty sure her father had actually jumped at the noise.

The grey doe’s automatic response was to comfort her son but she knew by now that his behaviour was more due to being cranky than distressed. Though it didn’t sit well with Judy, she knew it was important that they clear the air now, and not put it off to a more convenient time. Laying down her phone for a moment so that all her parents saw was the cracked ceiling, the bunny snatched her, and now Robin’s, favourite plush from the desk and brought it over to the kit. Tucking him back in with the police bunny toy, she gently scratched him behind the ears until his eyes drooped and a content purr came from his muzzle.

Sighing, she took the two steps back to the desk chair and lifted the phone from where it sat. The first thing Judy saw was the older bunny couple looking at each other in confusion, conducting their own, silent, conversation over what just happened. The movement on their screen had her parents turning back to the doe, worry and bafflement painted clearly on their faces.

Seconds ticked by as they just stared at one another, no one really knowing what to say. Though Judy was more than slightly hurt and angry at what Stu had proposed she do to Robin, the bunny was still also scared at their reactions to the truth. For Stu and Bonnie’s part, they were at a complete loss of the situation and weren’t quite sure what to even ask their daughter.

It was Bonnie who finally started the ball rolling, “Judy, hun, what’s going on? Why is there a baby fox in your apartment?”

Despite the fact that she had been trying to have this conversation with her parents for the last two weeks, now that it was here, Judy found herself completely blanking on the speech she had practiced.

“Um, the, the baby in question-” Amethyst eyes flit to the red fox, gathering her strength, before gazing directly at her parents, “Do you remember the first assignment Bogo gave me from parking duty? About two weeks ago?” She waited for their confirming nods and then gestured toward the bed with her own head nod, “It was him crying that caused the noise complaint. You see, his grandmother had passed away in her sleep and so he had been alone for nearly twenty-four hours.”

At the news, Bonnie made a little sound of distress, her heart going out to a kit in need.

Judy continued, “We later found out that she was his only living relative. By the time emergency services were called and the kit was checked over, it was too late to call anyone to take him so-”

Her mom broke in, finishing for her, “So you decided to look after him yourself until child services could find a place for him.” She smiled warmly at her daughter, “You really do have the biggest heart, Judy. Isn’t she kind, Stu?”

The elbow to the gut jolted the buck into speaking, “Oh, sure. Yes, the kindest doe I know. Just so long as they come take him soon-”

Judy cut her father off as she, for the second time that night, bared her teeth in warning.

“He’s _mine_.” She snarled.

He blinked, taken aback at both being disrupted mid-sentence and the way his little girl was acting.

“What do you mean, Jude?”

Startled at her own aggressiveness, Judy tried to calm the blood pounding in her ears, “I mean, he’s mine. No one is going to come and _take_ him from me.” _Over my dead body_ , she wanted to add but didn’t say.

Her parents shared another look, “And when you say he’s ‘yours’, you mean-” Bonnie gently prodded for clarification.

“I _mean_ that I adopted him; he’s my son.” Judy stated matter-of-factly.

At their daughter’s declaration, Stu began to stutter unintelligibly for a few seconds before his eyes rolled back in his head and a loud thump sounded following his disappearance from on screen.

Bonnie’s violet eyes had grown impossibly wide, though, unlike Stu, she was completely coherent. She didn’t seem surprised at her husband’s lack of control, nor did she move to help him when he first hit the hardwood. Instead, she kept her eyes trained on the doe in front of her. Judy could tell by the slight movement of her gaze every couple of seconds that she was trying to glimpse Robin again, but her daughter’s form blocked her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, mom, but that’s not going to change anything. Robin is my kit; he belongs with me.”

Seeming to recover from her shock, Bonnie looked at her little girl with soft eyes, “I would never try to force you to give up your son, Judy. I know what it means to be a mother and I can see it in your eyes that you are being to as well. Having your own kits is very important for bunnies and it was something I was worried you’d never get to experience with how career driven you are.” She smiled gently, placatingly, “I don’t fully understand it, but I’m not going to condemn you for adopting an orphaned kit, Judy.”

Judy’s shoulder’s slumped at her mother’s words, “Thanks, mom. I’m still a little worried about dad. He’s always been pretty big on the Anti-Fox stuff.”

“Don’t be, Bun Bun. You know how emotional your father is.” Looking down at the unconscious form of her husband for the first time, the doe sighed in exasperation before looking back at Judy, “Though I do wish you’d told us sooner. We could have helped you out. You’re going to be raising this kit alone in the big city, away from the support of the burrow.” The more she spoke, the more Bonnie talked herself into a tizzy.

“This isn’t right,” The matriarch finally proclaimed, holding up a paw to any protests, “You need to come home. And don’t start with me about your dream in the city, I already know. This is just for a visit, you’ll need all the supplies you can get. Babies ain’t cheap. Besides, you should introduce the kit to the family.”

“Mom! I can’t just up and take a vacation; I’ve only been there for a few months. And like you said, raising a kit isn’t cheap and I can’t afford to take time off.”

Bonnie waved her concerns away, “Nonsense, this is to help you, Bun. Also, I know for a fact that you’re not going to be working on the long weekend next month. I’ll make sure your old room is ready and get a place set up for the kit to sleep.”

“But-”

“No buts! Now, get some sleep, you have work tomorrow. I love you, Bun Bun.”

Sighing in defeat, Judy said her goodbyes, “Love you, too.”

The doe was about to tap the end call icon on her screen when her mom spoke up one last time, “Oh, and Judy? Robin is a beautiful name.”

And she was gone, leaving Judy staring at a blank screen.

***

Judy adjusted her grip on Robin as she stood in front of the sliding train doors, waiting for them to open to the small Bunny Burrow platform. Her foot thumped the floor in nervousness, the four-hour train ride seeming longer than the month leading up to this visit. The rabbit glanced down at her fox son whose snout had lifted in the air the moment the overhead voice announced their arrival, black nose twitching as it tried to catch all the new scents.

She had become very familiar with Robin’s more predatory actions; researching the behaviours purpose so that she understood what it meant when her son did such. Though Judy no longer batted an eye at something as mundane as taking in new scents, the bunny was pretty certain that many of the mammals living in her home town would assume the kit was sniffing out dinner.

Shifting her wait to better support the fox on her hip, Judy clutched the over-night bag tighter in her opposite paw. Her dad was supposed to be waiting with the truck to bring them back to the burrow, her mom staying behind to finish lunch preparations with her siblings. If her mother had kept her word, then no one yet new about Robin other than her parents. Judy didn’t want rumours flying about for the whole month before her visit back home; with so many rabbits contributing, the Hopps family rumour mill was a dangerous thing. However, she also didn’t want to be completely bombarded with questions when she showed up with a kit, so she had instructed Bonnie to tell the family what had happened and her decision to adopt a few days before their arrival, without disclosing that the kit was a fox.

Her ears stood erect and swiveled forward as the doors chimed, air rushing by as they slide to either side. Stepping onto the deserted platform, Judy just had time to notice she was the only passenger to leave the train before the doors sealed shut and her only means of escape left in a roar down the tracks.

“Okay, I can do this.” She spoke to herself as she headed to the parking lot past the gate. Glancing down at the kit in her arms, Judy addressed him, “We can do this, right?”

Robin blinked up at his mother’s worried violet eyes, and shrugged.

“Well, you’re not very helpful.” She huffed, giving him a mock unimpressed look. The let out a giggle just as Judy turned the corner and an old, blue pick-up truck came into view.

Walking up to the passenger side door, she knocked lightly on the glass to signal her presence before opening the door. Sliding onto the soft, worn seat, Judy placed her bag on the floor by her feat. As Judy didn’t own a car, she hadn’t bought a car seat for the kit. The only time she had ever anticipated him needing one was traveling between the apartment and the Big estate, but they had had a car seat installed in the limo Mr. Manchas drove for her. This in mind, Judy sat Robin firmly in her lap before pulling the seat belt over them both. Though not exactly legal, the common need to move dozens of rabbits at a time resulted in seat belt safety being very lax. The young rabbit could remember many a time in her childhood riding with her siblings in the truck bed, paw stretched over the side to feel the wind as it whipped passed.

Finally turning to the brown buck in the driver’s seat, the bunny cop greeted as nonchalantly as possible, “Hey, dad.”

Stu jumped slightly at being addressed. He had been trying as hard as possible not to stare at the red fox kit in his daughters lap as it cooed at the stranger beside them. Bonnie had done a thorough cleaning of the house before Judy’s visit, making sure that all Anti Fox products were thrown in the trash and out of harms way. Though still embarrassed at his initial over-reaction to the kit and honestly wanting to make a change to his prejudice behaviour, being stripped of all his protective gear made him anxious.

“Hey, Jude. Jude, the dude. Remember that one?” He laughed nervously, “Uh, how have you been? You and the, uh, the baby, doing alright?”

Judy smiled slightly at her father’s cringe worthy attempt at starting small talk as the truck began its trek down the dirt road toward the Hopps burrow.

“We’re fine. The ride wasn’t too bad; Robin loved going through all the different city sections” Judy smiled, buck teeth showing, at the thought, “His head wouldn’t stop moving the whole time; I thought he was going to give himself whip lash at one point.”

Stu hummed in response before they fell into a peaceful silence for the rest of the drive, both bunnies hoping the weekend went smoothly.

***

The truck came to a rolling stop in front of the burrow entrance, Stu shifting the gear to park before turning to Judy.

“Here, Jude, let me grab your bag for you. Your mom’s all excited to finally have you over, drove your siblings and I nuts going into a cleaning frenzy. You best be getting on in there before she comes looking for us.”

The grey doe nodded in acquiescence, passing the duffle onto her father and sliding onto the dirt driveway. Judy took a deep breath as she stared up at the Hopps burrow, the familiar smells of home invading her senses. Secure in his mama’s arms, Robin also looked up at the massive green hillside from which the rabbit burrow was originally built. Though large, the hill by itself would never be enough to house the many bunnies that made up Judy’s family. In actuality, the majority of the burrow was directly underneath and extended behind the prominent hill. The doe could see a few small faces peaking out of the windows that dotted the land mass, ears twitching in anticipation of their sister’s return.

Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, Judy stepped through the front door and made a bee line to the kitchen where she knew her mother was most likely situated. She didn’t want to be caught up in a swarm of curious bunnies with no back-up or means of escape. At this time of day, most of her siblings would be out working the fields or manning the produce stalls until lunch was called. Judy knew without a doubt it was due to this reason alone that she was able to make it to where her mother stood by a pot of boiling water without running into any of her siblings.

“Mom?” She called to get the matriarchs attention.

Bonnie twirled on the heel of one foot, paw still wielding a wooden spoon, to come face to face with her daughter.

“Bun Bun! Oh, it’s so good to see you.” She went to hug her but paused when her eyes landed on Robin, “Is this him?”

The older doe stared at the little kits wide blue eyes (who, for his part, was in shock at seeing another mammal who looked close to a mirror image of his mama) before tears began to brim, “Judy,” She breathed, “He’s beautiful.”

Judy’s own eyes began to water at her mother’s words but she forced them back. She couldn’t get emotional now, not when her siblings would be flooding into the burrow in a few minutes.

“Thank you, mom. It means so much that you and dad are trying.”

Bonnie opened her mouth to respond when a slight tremor rocked the ground. Judy knew without a shadow of doubt that it was the kerfuffle of a few hundred bunnies rushing the dining room, rather than an earthquake, that had the dirt trembling beneath her paws.

The older doe smiled gently at her daughter and instead said, “We best get going to eat, you know how your brothers and sisters are.” Leaving the pot to simmer, Bonnie ushered the two through the kitchen and out the door leading directly into the dining room.

Stepping into the room behind her, Bonnie called out to the mass of long ears, “Judy’s home!”

Every single head turned toward the sound of Bonnie’s voice and Judy watched as at least a couple dozen noses began to twitch at the sight of the fox in her arms. Looking down at Robin, the bunny saw that his blue eyes had become impossibly wide at the sight of the sea of rabbits. For a second, Judy worried he would begin to cry at being surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces. This anxiety turned out to be for nothing as his eyes soon went back to their normal size and he began to clap his hands in front of his face, giggling.

No one was saying anything when a loud, croaky voice echoed across the room, “Is that Trudy? What’s she doing bringing a fox into the burrow!” He exclaimed in indignation, “Doesn’t she know foxes are red because they are made by the devil?”

The old buck’s proclamation was enough to snap the room out of their partial trance but it was Bonnie’s louder retort that brought everyone to attention, “Dad! That is a bunch of hogwash and you know it! I won’t have you talking like that about Judy’s son.”

Whispers immediately broke out amongst the crowd, looks being thrown the doe’s way, as they discussed what Bonnie had just said to Pop Pop.

The first mammal to speak up, over the din, was one of Judy’s own litter mates, “You can’t be serious, Judy! The kit mom told us you adopted was a _fox_? Have your senses all gone to mush or do you truly not remember what happened with Gideon Grey?”

Jadon was the oldest of their litter by a few minutes, but he was by far the tallest of the Hopps children. Standing, he was shoulders and head above Judy, though he was also as skinny as a bean pole. After the incident with Gideon when they were kits, he had become very protective of his siblings but especially so with Judy. Jadon had jumped onto the Anti Fox bandwagon faster than any of them and Judy doesn’t think he ever fully got off.

Judy’s paws balled into fists but before she could get a word out, her mother was already speaking, “Jadon! When I told Pop Pop not to talk like that, that includes _everybunny_! Robin is a part of the family now; a Hopps in all but blood. You will respect your sister’s decision and not say a word against her son.” Pausing to make sure he understood, Bonnie took in a breath, “Now sit your ass back in your seat and eat the lunch I just spent the whole morning making for Judy’s arrival.”

Knowing better than to argue with the clan matriarch, Jadon obeyed the command with no form of protest other than an inaudible grumble. Judy scanned over the rest of her siblings, most of them had decided to follow her mother’s words and were now turned to the food in front of them.

Following Bonnie as she led her to the head table, reserved for guests and the elder-most generations, Judy sighed in relief when see noticed that Pop Pop had fallen asleep where he sat. The ancient buck spent his days either talking of his time in the war (which never actually happened), the evils of the fox species, or sleeping. The doe was glad that his short time of consciousness was over, knowing that he would most likely not rouse until all the dishes were cleared away and everyone was back in the field.

Even so, the meal was nothing short of awkward with Bonnie’s over enthusiasm and Stu’s pathetic attempts to act casual while avoiding eye contact. Robin didn’t seem to notice or, if he did, be bothered by anything going on around him. He sat happily in his mama’s lap, paws kicking back and forth, as he suckled on the bottle Judy had brought with them.

And so went the rest of the day in a similar fashion, her family members looking at her with curiosity but never actually coming up to speak with her. _At least_ , Judy thought to herself, _none of them are looking at me with outright hostility. Well_ , she amended, _except for Jadon and Pop Pop. But as long as no one actually does anything to harm him, I can live with a couple sour looks._ She snorted, _They probably know I’d drop kick them if they so much as tried to pull any kind of stunt. Not everyone is going to agree with my choice to adopt Robin and I have to except that, even if I don’t understand it._

Judy figured that her weekend visit home was going to continue as it had been, when the last mammal she thought she’d run into made an appearance.

With Robin snoozing in the early morning sun, tucked into an old wicker basket by her feet, Judy stood manning the produce stall situated along the road surrounding her family farm. Straw hat covering her head, the doe sighed in boredom as she let her head rest in a paw, elbow supported by the wooden table. She had just begun contemplating if it would be better to head home tonight instead of tomorrow morning, when she sensed her parents come up behind her.

Before she could turn around to face them, though, the rumbling of a large vehicle coming down the road caught her attention. Watching the cloud of dust give way to a pink truck, Judy’s eyebrows drew together in confusion when it stopped directly in front of the produce stand.

As the, yet unseen, mammal climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked around to the back of the truck, she finally got a good look at the words embossed in cursive on its side.

_Gideon Grey’s Real Good Baked Stuff_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and love! They really brighten my day.  
> I also wanted to give you a quick heads up: My life is about to get hectic again and I most likely wont be able to post for at least a week (maybe a bit longer because at one point I won't have access to a computer) but not to fear! My imagination never stops and I have lots of plans in the works for this story.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take this time to let all my wonderful readers know how much your Kudos and Comments mean to me. You guys are honestly the best and I sincerely appreciate those who take the time to comment on every chapter, cause I do notice you.   
> Also, I wanted to give a shout out to the lovely lisazoofan who gifted me my first piece of fanart! Here's the link if you guys want to go check it out: https://lisazoofan.tumblr.com/post/163973375941/judy-and-robin-hopps-out-for-a-stroll-in-zootopia  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and any of my OCs belong to me

Judy straightened, her eyebrows furrowing as she reread the words painted on the van, convinced she had read it wrong the first time around. When the image failed to change, the young doe questioned aloud, “Gideon Grey?”

She jumped slightly when the voice of her father sounded not a foot from behind her, “Yep!” He began happily, “We work with him now!”

While the meaning of Stu’s statement itself was odd enough, the pride behind it had Judy struggling to come up with a response. Her eyes drifted back to the van from where she had turned to look at her father, the back doors, now standing wide open, continued to hide the mammal from view.

Her long ears titled back toward her parents, soon followed by her head, as Bonnie continued, “And we never would have considered it if it weren’t for you. Even before this whole situation with Robin, you’ve always tried to see the best in mammals. You always took risks that many bunnies were too scared to try because of the possibility that they might fail. With you out there in Zootopia, taking one of the biggest risks of your life, your father and I thought it was about time we took a risk too.”

Stu went on, “So when we heard that Gid was looking for a farm to partner with, we decided to reach out. He’s now one of the top pastry chefs in the Tri-Burrows.”

Happily surprised at the new development, Judy smiled softly at them, “That’s really cool, you guys.”

With a quick glance down to ensure her son was still peacefully napping, the doe began to make her way around the produce stand. Slowly traipsing toward the back of the van, she spared a moment to wonder if her parents had planned this meeting when they asked her to man the stall this morning. True, she hadn’t had anything planned to do, but usually Bonnie put her foot down when it came to guests lending a hand. No guest was going to be put to work in her burrow, especially when they were invited over. Maybe they thought that by showing her they weren’t completely against foxes anymore, she wouldn’t be as irritated about Robin’s less than stellar welcome. Judy didn’t have much more time to dwell on it, as she rounded one of the open back doors.

The fox didn’t notice her at first and Judy took the short moment to get a good look at her childhood bully. She hadn’t seen much of the mammal after elementary school, having gone to different high schools and running in different social circles, but she would see him every now and then in passing. The bunny certainly hadn’t had a conversation with him in years, had absolutely no clue that he became a baker or even liked to bake for that matter. The still slightly overweight fox was just pulling out a tray of delicious smelling pies when Judy decided to announce her presence, stuffing her paws in her jean pockets as she stepped forward.

“Gideon Grey. Well, I’ll be darned.”

Surprised, the fox stood up from his half-crouched position, tray in paw. Expecting a simple greeting, the rabbit was taken aback at the well-rehearsed apology that followed.

“Oh, hey, Judy. I- I’d just like to say I’m sorry for the way I- I behaved in my youth. I- I had a lot of self-doubt and it manifested itself in the form of unchecked rage and aggression. I was a major jerk.”

 

Judy blinked up in shock for a second, not really sure what to say in response to the sincere words. In the end she settled on simply saying, “Ya, well, I know a thing or two about being a jerk.” As images of herself reaching for the fox repellent on her belt the morning she met Robin played in her mind’s eye.

Gideon smiled quietly at her before slightly lifting the tray toward her, “Anyhow, I brought ya’ll these pies.”

Just as she was about to take the tray from the fox, a low, familiar, whine reached her ears coming from the abandoned produce stand. Head whipping in the direction of the cry, Judy made the calculated decision to sooth Robin before the inevitable screams started. The bunny knew from experience that the kit had one hell of a set of lungs on him. Glancing back as she rounded the stand, she saw that while her parents had been distracted by a few of her siblings playing in the field, Gideon had followed her so he could set the try down on the wooden table.

Knowing the sight of Robin would be a shock for the older fox, but not caring enough to take the time to warn him when her kit was crying for her, she bent down to coo at the child. For Gideon’s part, he stood in front of the stand, patiently waiting for the bunny to take the freshly baked pies from him. Not assuming anything out of the ordinary, as the Hopps were a large family of bunnies and there was at least one kit crying on any given day, the fox figured Judy had been watching one of her younger siblings, or even a niece or nephew.

So when said doe stood up from behind the stand with a red fox kit sniffling into the crook of her neck, Gideon can’t be blamed for dropping the tray of pies onto the ground.

The sound of the aluminum pie tins smacking against the metal tray as it hit the dirt caused Judy to raise her head in the fox’s direction from where it had been resting against Robin’s shoulder in an effort to reassure him with her presence. The look of slack jawed confusion that greeted the bunny caused her to snort in amusement. She had tried her best to hide it, afraid he would think she was mocking him, but her reaction had been so sudden she hadn’t even had the chance.

It wasn’t long before Gideon seemed to find his tongue, “I- I know I may not be the smartest mammal th- there is, but I- I’m smart enough to know th- that bunnies don’t tend to like us foxes.”

Judy smiled gently at him, giving Gideon the courage to continue his line of thinking as his eyes followed the practiced way she lightly bounced the kit in her arms, “I- It’s always been hard for me to admit th- that I don’t know somethin’ but I- I have to ask. Judy, w- why do you have a fox kit?”

“Well. It’s actually part of the reason why I’m visiting back home so early, so that my family can meet Robin here.” She nodded her head toward the kit who had stopped sniffling and begun to take in his surroundings, “He’s my son.”

The simple statement caused the fox’s eyes to impossibly widen. Watching his face intently, Judy could practically see the cogs in his brain grinding as they tried to do the biological math. His mouth slightly parted as if to say something to that effect but nothing came out, though his mouth remained open.

Deciding to put him out of his misery, the doe continued, “I adopted him after I found out he was an orphan while working a case.”

“Oh.” Gideon mulled this new information over for a moment, “And your mate was okay with ya adopting a fox?”

Judy noncommittally shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t have a mate to worry about them being okay with it. Besides, I couldn’t just leave him with child services. He would have been abused and discriminated against for eighteen years!”

The fox appraised her silently, causing the young rabbit to shift a bit in discomfort of the surprisingly penetrating stare. Robin had finally caught sight of the other red fox and let out a questioning yip, head tilted at a forty-five degree angle. 

“You know, Judy, I- I’m awful happy what happened between us didn’t ruin the image of foxes in your mind. I- I was worried that the way I- I treated you would cause you to treat other predators as something to be afraid of. But for you t- to take on a fox kit in need is something real special.”

Touched by his sentiment, Judy responded with all honesty, “I’m not perfect either, Gideon. Trust me, I’ve held my share of prejudices. Not,” She was quick to reassure him, “just because of what happened when we were nine, but what I was told. I would always try to ignore stuff like that but I guess it affected me anyway. It was Robin who finally put everything in a new light for me and I promised him that I’d always be there for him.”

“Well, they do say foxes named after the Hero of Sherwood will follow in their namesake’s path, doing their part to make the world a better place.”

“Hero of Sherwood?” The doe questioned, her interest piqued.

“Aw shucks, Judy. Don’t you go telling me you never heard of Robin Hood.”

The county bunny shrugged helplessly, at a loss for what the portly fox was referring to.

“Oh. Well, I- I suppose its not impossible that you might not have. Robin Hood is an old fox legend th- that’s been passed down families for generations. He was a hero to the mammals of Sherwood Forest, though not in the conventional sense. The fox was said to have stole from the rich to give to the poor.”

Judy hummed in thought, the tale was unlike any she had heard before, though that may be due to the fact that all the bunny tales she had been told as a kit featured foxes as the villain. That being said, she was very much intrigued about this hero fox. She’d have to do some Zoogling when she got home, she had a feeling this was going to end up being her favourite bedtime story to read her kit to sleep. She told Gideon as much, giving Robin a little nuzzle to make him giggle.

The fox gave her that same, penetrating look that he had earlier for a moment, “You know, Judy, you’re welcome to come over for a bit. I’m sure my ma and pa have some kit tips about raising a fox. A- and you’ll be raising him all alone, which ain’t easy for any mammal.” Judy wavered in her decision, taken aback by the kind offer, “Plus, my grandpa is the best story teller and Robin Hood happens to be his favourite.”

Upon hearing that, Judy’s face split into a wide smile and she silently nodded in acquiescence. Glancing down at the small kit in her arms, snuggled into her chest for comfort, the bunny knew in that moment that everything was going to be okay. No matter what life threw at them, if they were together, they would preserver.

The rabbit was abruptly yanked out of her peaceful state when Stu, who had finally walked up to join them, Bonnie by his side, let out a horrified shout, “What happened to the pie?!”

Glancing from her father, to the dust covered pie, to the guilty face of Gideon, all Judy could do was laugh.

***

**Seven Years Later**

Judy shuffled the multiple files littering her desk top, arranging them into some semblance of an order before lightly tapping the pile against the hard surface so that they became perfectly aligned. Pulling open the top drawer, she placed the stack front and center for her to continue tomorrow. Bracing her paws along the edge of the desk, she wheeled her swivel chair outward so that she could slip down to the floor. A huff of air escaped her when she glanced up at the large clock that faced the room of cubicles, it was already 5:00, an hour past her normal eight to four shift.

These past seven years had been slow going up the career ladder but she did what she could. Every chance she got to prove herself as equal to her fellow peers, Judy gave nothing less than her best. It took a while for the other officers to except her, for Bogo to give her more top priority cases. It wasn’t just herself she had to worry about now though, she had a kit to provide for and that thought alone drove her to keep going even on her worst of days.

Over time, her skills were undeniable and she managed to impress most everyone on the force. That’s not to say there wasn’t still the odd mammal that would shoot her dirty looks for nothing but the fact they didn’t think a bunny capable of her position. Judy was glad that these few animals’ opinions didn’t stop others from treating her with respect and even inviting her out for drinks now and then.

Making her way down the hall to the reception area, she smiled as memories of Francine’s birthday party last month flashed in her mind. She had just turned thirty-three, two years older than Judy herself, and the elephant had insisted on having a girls’ night out where she revealed to the group that her boyfriend of five years had finally proposed last night. The ‘girls’ night out’ turned into a premature bachelorette party when, after tipsily leaving the bar, Fangmeyer led them down the street to a male strip club.

It was fun to let loose for a while, knowing Robin was safe at Fru Fru’s, but she knew she wouldn’t trade Robin for anything. Judy and her kit were a package deal, which was also why she hadn’t really dated much since moving to Zootopia, not that she had before, mind you. Of the few bucks that showed interest in the young doe, and weren’t patronizing of her career choice, none of them liked Robin.

After a couple years of raising the fox kit and the doe had decided to give in to her mother’s wishes and try her hand at dating, Robin was her biggest concern. Originally, she had planned to easy any prospective suitors into the situation but then thought better of it. Judy was in it for the long run, whoever she ended up with would become Robin’s father and the bunny wasn’t going to negotiate. In the few years she had been open to dating, she had had eight prospective bucks and eight failed first dates.

She didn’t completely drop them in the deep end, before they ever made arrangements for a first date she would tell them that she was already a mother, that she had adopted a kit on the job. When they seemed on board with the prospect, she would tentatively agree to a dinner date where she would get to know the buck a bit better. By the end of the evening, if she liked what she heard and was agreeable to a second date, Judy would tell the buck a bit about her kit before showing them her screen saver of the two of them. Suffice it to say, none of them got a second date.

“You finally heading out, Judy?” Clawhauser’s bubbly voice penetrated her thoughts, “It’s getting pretty late, wouldn’t Robin be home by now?”

“Huh? Oh, ya, Chief wants the paperwork for that robbery spree on his desk by the end of tomorrow. I can use all the over time I can get, anyway.” _Being a single mom on a police officer’s salary isn’t sunshine and rainbows_ , she thought, “Besides, Robin joined the soccer team at school. They practice after class for two hours everyday so it gives me some extra free time to spend at work.”

Clawhauser gasped, paws coming up to cover his gaping maw, “I didn’t know little Blue Eyes joined the soccer team!” A poorly repressed squeal echoed in the empty space, “Oh! He must look so cute in his little uniform!”

Judy couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at the thought, “He does, but don’t let him hear you say that. He got so mad at me when I told him he was cite the first time he put it on.”

The cheetah gave her a knowing look, “Wow, I wonder where he got that from?”

Judy rolled her eyes at him, “Oh, shush. They’re not allowed to bring the jersey’s home but I have a group picture from the first day I can bring in tomorrow to show you. I just can’t let him see me grab it, or he’ll throw a fit like he did when I sent a copy back home for my parents’ photo album.”  Chuckling at the memory, the bunny finished, “Anyway, I got to get going. I still have to make dinner for us and the sitter should be dropping him off in forty-five minutes.”

Taking longer than she’d hoped to raise enough money, the bunny hadn’t been able to move out of her first apartment in the city until a couple months after Robin’s first birthday. Despite the unfortunate wait, however, Judy couldn’t be happier with her small families living space. Being a fifteen minute drive to Robin’s elementary school in one direction and a half hour subway ride to the station in another, the two bedroom condo built especially for medium sized mammals was perfect for the mother/son duo’s needs. Laying in the heart of Savanah Central, Judy’s home contained not only their own bathroom, living room, and attached kitchen and dining area but a small laundry room. Though used to everybunny being in her personal space since she was conceived (she was but one kit in a litter of six), it was nice not to have to leave her housing every time she needed to use the bathroom.

“Okay, see ya tomorrow, Judy!” Ben called after her as she began to lightly sprint to the front, revolving doors.

Glancing at the time on her phone again, the rabbit new that she had to book it if she wanted to make it home in time to meet Mr. Manchas as he dropped of her kit. On top of that, she had promised Robin she would make Carrot Cricket Stew for dinner tonight, his favourite, and that took a good hour to cook.

_Well_ , Judy sighed in thought, _at least I don’t have to worry about making a second dish_. The bunny was still a little embarrassed to admit it to anyone, it had been one of the most awkward moments of her life when she finally told her parents, but she’d grown to like the taste of meat. Many mammals, not just prey, still believed that eating meat or fish products wasn’t possible for prey without them becoming violently sick. While this was true in the stone age, when animals evolved, many prey mammals’ biology changed in a way to allow the digestion of such products. Though not new information, most lay mammals still don’t realize this fact as prey don’t need to eat meat/fish products to lead healthy lives.

Judy, herself, hadn’t known this fact either until five years ago. Once Robin had become old enough to eat solid foods, the bunny had gotten into the habit of making the same dinner for each of them and just cooking some type of meat or fish to add to the kit’s dish. Now, Judy didn’t know if it was her influence or not, but her son seemed to love vegetables, carrots especially, just as much as she did. This made meal preparations blessedly easier, however it made mixing the dishes up a lot easier, too. Such was how she found out she wasn’t deathly allergic to meat.

It had been a late night at work one day when Robin was but two years old and the bunny had come through the front door dragging her feet in exhaustion. The doe hadn’t had to worry about dinner for the evening as the kit was having a sleepover with her goddaughter, Little Judy or Ju Ju, as everyone called her. Still knowing she had to eat something before she dropped, Judy figured she’d just microwave the leftover Carrot Stew from yesterday. Eyelids continuously drooping shut, the bunny had reached blindly into the refrigerator, dumping the contents of the first container she’d grasped into a bowl, and set the timer on the microwave.

The bunny didn’t realize her non-fatal mistake until she’d already swallowed her first bite. The flavour that had burst on her tongue had her eyes snapping open to stare down at the deep orange liquid in her bowl. Violet eyes searching the surface of the soup, she gave the meal an experimental turn with her spoon. A black cricket bobbed into her line of sight.

When Judy realized what she’d done, that she had accidently prepared and eaten a mouthful of her son’s Carrot Cricket Stew instead of her normal, plain Carrot Stew, the bunny thought she should probably run to be sick. Instead, the doe sat, frozen in her seat as she stared at the insect invading her soup. Her mind went blank as her heart raced and it seemed to Judy that she was watching herself from afar as she lifted a second spoonful to eyelevel. Nose twitching like mad, the bunny opened her mouth to accept the spoon, and swallowed. When the same explosion of flavour hit her tongue, Judy resigned herself to the obvious: she liked the taste of meat.

The doe had found little sleep that night as she looked up article after article on the health implications of a bunny eating meat. When she came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t make her ill, she had spent the night laying in bed, thinking about what this development said about her as a prey mammal. By the time the sun peaked over the horizon, Judy had concluded that her enjoyment of meat didn’t change anything about her. She didn’t condemn predators for their need to eat meat, didn’t think them monsters, so why should she think that of herself? What she did know, was that meal time just became that much easier.

***

Robin sighed, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk as he made his way back to his school grounds. Most kits in the second grade didn’t stray far from their parents or, if they did, were under some other type of supervision. Even at such a young age, the fox kit was aware of this fact. Robin was actually more aware of a lot of things other kits his age weren’t, such as the danger of crossing the street without looking both ways or talking to strangers.

His mom had instilled these things in him from the time he could crawl and he had eaten it up. In Robin Hopps’ eyes, his mom was a real-life hero. She had the awesome-est job ever as a police officer, putting bad guys in jail and saving mammals. In fact, he had told his mom just last week that he wanted to be a police officer like she was. His mom had been so happy, her buck teeth on display as she grinned at him before bending down and telling him that ‘ _in Zootopia, anyone can be anything and if he wanted to be a police officer, he could be a police officer’_.

_But if anyone can be anything_ , Robin thought glumly, _then why can’t a fox be a soccer player on his school’s team?_

The small fox had been so excited when his teacher, Mrs. Flattail, a middle-age beaver, had announced to the class that they would be starting an after-school soccer team and anyone who wanted to join was welcome. Robin had made sure to grab one of the information flyers piled on the corner of his teacher’s desk before leaving that evening, detailing the dress code and pick-up times to show his mom.

He was absolutely positive his mom would let him go, she always told him to try everything and believe in his dreams. And, sure enough, he was right as the very next day after school let out, he eagerly stood in line to get his jersey. The sun had beat down on the kits as they ran practice drills so the coaches could see which mammals would be best in each position. As time had gone on, however, Robin began to feel a bit off put as his classmates seemed to avoid passing the ball toward him. He didn’t really understand why, especially in the couple instances he had been wide open, but he figured they might have just been ball-hogs. The fox certainly knew a couple of his competitive cousins could get like that when they’d play games whenever he and his mom visited the farm.

By the time the first practice ended and the kits had handed in their jerseys, Robin had gotten little to no time with the ball. As he followed the other boys into the change room, the fox thought it might help to let them know that he was actually a really good soccer player. That he played in games all the time with his family and they shouldn’t worry about passing the ball to him because they were scared they would lose; soccer was a team sport after all.

Upon telling them this, however, Robin was subject to dirty looks all around.

“Why would we pass the ball to a _fox_?” Asked a woodchuck.

Robin’s eyebrows creased in confusion, unsure what being a fox had to due with anything. Before he could question his classmate, however, another spoke up.

“Ya! My dad says foxes are nothing but sly thieves.” Robin gaped at him before another voice joined in,

“My mommy said the same thing! She said to never trust a fox because they’ll steal you blind.”

“I don’t know why you even came to practice, no one is going to trust you to win.”

“He probably lied about being good at soccer so that we would like him.”

“It’s not going to happen, fox, so go home.”

By that point, Robin had tears streaming down his face despite how much he had tried to hold them back. He didn’t know where this animosity came from, he hadn’t done _anything_ to them!

Before this point, the fox had always been pretty quiet in class, sitting down on a bench to read during recess. Though he enjoyed company, Robin tended to keep to himself which was testament to foxes natural, solitary behaviour. That being said, no one had ever really bothered him before, not like this. What was so bad about him joining the soccer team that had his classmates lashing out like this?

Vision blurred, Robin ran for the door, slamming it open as he tried to escape the words that had nailed into his heart. He continued to run until he was back outside, not coming to a stop until he rounded the building. Chest heaving with laboured breath, the fox leaned against the old brickwork for support before sinking to the floor in sobs.

That’s where Ju Ju had found him five minutes later after she had gone looking for her best friend when he failed to show up to meet Mr. Manchas down the block. The small shrew, who took ballet lessons at the dance studio a few doors down from the elementary school, was raging with more fury than Robin thought her tiny body could contain after he finished telling her what had happened. Ju Ju’s righteous indignation had soothed the fox but the scars that the words had left still lingered in his thoughts. Despite everything, though, Robin refused to let Little Judy say anything to the soccer players and made her pinky promise not to breath a word to anyone, especially his mom.

He didn’t want the other kits to know how much they had hurt him and he was too embarrassed about the whole thing to tell him mom. His mom could get very overprotective and Robin didn’t know what she would do if she found out what his classmates had said to him. More than that, in a deep part of his mind Robin didn’t want to think about, he worried what his mom would do if she found out that people thought foxes were criminals. His mommy’s job was to put criminals in jail.

That had been a month ago. Usually, during the two hours he was supposed to be at soccer practice, Robin would spend his time in the library with Mr. Speedster, the old sloth librarian. He was always nice to the little kit and told the best jokes, even if he took a while to get to the punchline. Once it hit 5:30, the end of practice, Robin would pack his bag and head outside to walk the two minute journey down the street to Ju Ju’s dance studio where Mr. Manchas would be waiting to drive them home.

Today was different, however, as this evening marked the first, actual, soccer game. Since they were only kits, they didn’t have _real_ soccer games against different schools, but split into two and played against each other. This wouldn’t be much of a problem if the school hadn’t announced it in the monthly parent newsletter. The fox wasn’t worried about his mom asking to come to the game and not seeing him play, as parents weren’t invited to the match. What had caused some trouble for him is that the letter informed parents that after the hour-long game, the coach would be taking the players out for ice-cream.

Robin clutched the already crumpled twenty dollar bill in his paw as he continued down the road. His mom had handed the money to him this morning, intending for him to grab the celebratory treat with his fellow peers. If he came back home with the bill still in hand, his mom would get suspicions and Robin _really_ didn’t want that. The kit could never hide anything from his mom once she caught onto a scent. Robin figured he’d just leave the library early so he could head to the nearest ice-cream shop to grab something to snack on and have enough time to arrive back at school before Mr. Manchas showed up.

So, once it hit 4:30, the young fox had gathered up his books, stuffing them in his backpack, and headed out to the street. Robin always had a good sense of direction and, used to walking all around the city with his mom, had little trouble locating an ice cream store: _Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor_.

Robin had never been to this particular shop before, for the obvious reason that it was primarily designed for larger mammals, but all the kit really cared about at the moment was spending the money so that he could head back to the meeting spot before anyone noticed. This in mind, the young fox waited patiently, every now and then glancing around the large elephant in front of him to see his place in line.

Ten minutes later found the kit standing before a huge display case, blinking at the glorious sight of mountain sized popsicles. While not having had anything special in mind to buy when the fox entered the ice cream, his eyes couldn’t help but widen at the delicious looking treat. It had been fairly hot the last week and as the day wore on, the air had become muggy, making the kit want to pant from the excess heat that matted his red fur.

Small smile now playing at his features, Robin walked up to the register, excited at the prospect of cooling down with such a treat.

The large elephant manning the cash register leaned on the counter, supported by his elbow, as he looked down at the small fox running toward him.

“Wow, wow, kid. Back up.”

Robin skidded to a stop, blinking in uncertainty as he stared at the elephant, before slowly taking a step back.

“Sorry, sir. Mommy says I shouldn’t run in stores.”

“Ya, well why don’t you go back to her? I don’t need your kind skulking around during daylight hours. One is already too many.”

The small fox wasn’t really sure what the man meant by that but he could tell by the tone, similar to that of the soccer players, that he wasn’t welcome.

“She’s at work but I wanted to get a popsicle, please.”

The elephant gave a long-winded sigh, “Look, kid. I can’t keep serving foxes, it’s scaring off my customers. Why don’t you go to your part of town and find some fox ice-cream joint?”

Robin blinked again, not understanding why he couldn’t just but the popsicle here, “Bu- But I have the money!” He tried again, pulling out the folded twenty dollar bill from his side jeans pocket to show the man.

“I don’t accept stolen money. Now you need to get out or I’ll call the cops; you’re holding up the line.”

The kit shrunk into himself at the threat. If they called the cops, his mom would know he lied about being on the soccer team. Looking around at all the strange mammals that towered around him, Robin tightened his fist around the money and ran out of the store, sniffling.

Once he was back on the street and away from all the staring mammals, his breathing eased. Knuckling an eye to keep the tears at bay, the small fox thought it best to just head back to school. He didn’t feel like going through that again and besides, he hadn’t really wanted that popsicle anyway. He’d just tell his mum that he had had a tummy ache and didn’t any ice cream. It would make her worry and he would feel bad about lying to her again, but he didn’t know how else to explain why he still had the bill in paw.

Robin kept his head low as he turned the corner on the second last block before he hit the elementary school, eyes following the pebble as he kicked it again with his toe. The fox didn’t move his gaze as his right ear flicked instinctually toward the clock stand across the street when it began to chime the hour. Shoulders in a perpetual slump, he continued down the road as his ear twitched again when multiple tiny footsteps began to patter across the pavement. It wasn’t until a voice called out across the previously empty street that Robin lifted his head in curiosity.

“Pawpsicles! Get your Pawpsicles!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. I was both worried and excited to post this chapter. I could tell by the comments I was getting that many (if not all) of you thought that Robin was going to stay a baby for the majority of the fic. And I honestly thought about changing my game plan with everyone's mind on Baby Robin but I couldn't do it. This fic actually came out of the idea of that last scene and I feel like there's so much more I can do with the story now that Robin's more of an active player. Plus, now that our favourite, sly fox has arrived, things are about to get interesting.   
> PLEASE let me know what you guys think! See you next chapter!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers! As I'm sure you noticed, this chapter took longer than normal to get out. Like I've said before, I have no plans to abandon this story however, with summer at a close, I have next to no time to write. So while this story is far from over, updates will be coming in slower, probably one to two weeks per chapter.   
> I want to give a shout out to the great lisazoofan for another piece of adorable fan art: https://lisazoofan.tumblr.com   
> And another shout out to theblueberrycarrots (on tumblr) for their absolutely amazing pieces of fan art: https://theblueberrycarrots.tumblr.com/post/163633190029/after-reading-the-new-chapters-i-had-to-make-a   
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This Fanwork and all of my OC's belong to me

For his part, Nick Wilde had been living a decent life. Not a great life, nor the one he had dreamed of for himself as a kit, but decent. At thirty-nine years old, the tod couldn’t complain too much about how life turned out for him as a member of the fox species. He made around two hundred bucks a day since he was twelve performing different hustles as time passed. It was the pit-fall of being a con-mammal: getting too comfortable with one specific hustle was bound to get you caught after a while. A mammal had to move on, shake things up a bit, or be at risk of someone catching on. Of course, after time, a con-mammal could always fall back on old hustles once new clientele immerged. For Nick, that favourite fall back was the Pawpsicle Hustle. He knew the routine like the back of his paw, the tricks to getting the proper permits, and he even got a treat out of it for himself.

Of course, the con-mammal life style wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. While he did have Finnick, his long time best friend and partner-in-almost-crime, there weren’t many opportunities for companionships of any kind to form. While foxes were naturally solitary creatures, they formed some of the strongest bonds with their families. They mated for life after all; even in death they remained faithful. Loyal and unwaveringly protective, the fox species stood as pillars of support for those they loved. However, while every other mammal species out there assumed foxes were promiscuous, thieving bandits, fellow foxes new different. And while Nick had chosen to take the route of proving others right in their biases, vixens didn’t tend to appreciate the stability offered in such a career path. That being said, the tod had had very few dates in his lifetime and he wasn’t getting any younger.

While the con-mammal life wasn’t stellar for his romantic life, it also wasn’t the greatest for his family either. Not that he had much of one to speak of, himself and both his parents being only children. His father had been the victim of a hit an run when he was walking home from work, a tailor shop he owned, Wilde and Son’s Suit-topia, late one night. This had been over three decades ago, to the point that Nick had been so young that he couldn’t remember the sound of his voice and barley remembered what he looked like. His mother had raised him alone for ten years before he ran away at the ripe age of fifteen once he realized how much his mom was really struggling to pay the bills off her dead end job of being a waitress.

He had had some semblance of a plan to survive, he wasn’t naïve to the realities of living on the street. If he was, he probably would have ended up dead in a ditch where no one would ever find him. The tod had already been doing small hustles for the last three years, introduced to the art by the small fennec fox who was actually three years his senior. It was only the next natural step to become full time partners, pulling off larger hustles, with Nick bunking in the fennec’s run down van until he could afford his own place. The red fox knew that his leaving would upset his mom, but he also knew that if he didn’t do something soon, they would both end up homeless. He couldn’t let that happen, he loved his mom too much to let that happen. Not after all she had sacrificed to give him a happy childhood. So an hour after she left for her regular night shift at a hole-in-the-wall diner one night, Nick packed a few sets of clothes and a couple hygiene products before setting his key on the kitchen counter and locking the door behind him.

The tod didn’t completely cut off ties with his mother, the guilt would eat him alive. Nick called Marian Wilde from a pay phone once he knew she would have discovered him missing the same night he left. The sound of her heart wracking sobs still echoed in his heart to this day. The vixen hadn’t even been able to get a word out during that first call, her gasps of air the only sound able to escape through her tears. He made sure to keep in contact with her via phone calls every week, letting her know that he was okay wherever he was, even visiting her on her birthday and Christmas. However, the fox downright refused to tell her what he was doing to make ends meat. Nick knew for a fact his mother would be disappointed in him, she was always of a mind that it was their duty to prove other mammals wrong of the fox stereotype. Nick had experienced the reality of the world at a young age, was more than aware that no matter what they did, foxes would always be seen as the scum of the earth. Despite everything, he wasn’t able to keep his goings on quiet forever.  The day Marian realized what her son was doing for a living was the day of their biggest fight. It ended with him storming out of his childhood apartment and them not speaking for the last nine years.

It hurt, not being able to talk with his mom, but as long as she was safe Nick could deal with it. He would check up on her every now and then, peaking through windows and making sure she was alright. His lifestyle had a purpose other than confirming his species stereotype: money. His mom was a prime example, she had gone through schooling to be a nurse, graduating with high marks and all the credentials. None of it mattered, however, because no hospital or private practice would hire her. The only places of employment that would consider bringing on a fox only paid minimum wage and offered crap shifts. By hustling, Nick could make his own hours and was able to make a decent living. He was able to make enough, in fact, that he could transfer small sums each month into his mother’s bank account. Nothing huge, but enough that he knew she would be comfy.

If you were smart on your feet and knew the tricks of the trade, hustling was one of the best bets in life for a fox. It’s one of the main reasons he never left. Besides, at least as a con-mammal he kept his mind sharp. If the tod was pigeon-holed into being a busboy, he’d go nuts.

The dull, booming, sound of the van’s back doors bursting open shook the tod from his thoughts.

“Yo, Wilde!”, Finnick’s deep baritone called back to him, “You can sleep when your dead, we gotta move the merchandise before quittin’ time.”

Shaking his head slightly, Nick looked behind his shoulder from his position in the front passenger seat, sly smirk in place, “Aw, is wittle Fin cranky?” he mocked in childish tones.

The scowl the older fox sent him would have had any other mammal’s self-preservation send them running, but not Nick. He knew that the fennec would never do any permanent damage to him, they were brothers in all but blood. Brothers, however, weren’t shy in letting one another know when one had pissed the other off. Which is why Nick didn’t continue his line of thought when he saw his brothers sandy paw twitching in the direction of his wooden bat.

“Just grab the damn popsicles and move your fluffy ass into position.”, he hopped down from the van, sending him one last scowl before pulling up the hood of his elephant costume.

Under his breath, Nick grumbled as he climbed over the seats, into the back where the ice chest was held, “It’s _Pawpsicles_.”.

***

With Finnick stationed in the strategically located recycling disposal, Nick rolled the Pawpsicle stand into place. Plucking one of the icy treats from the chest, he stood, straight faced, as he counted down in his head. _Three, two, one_.

The hourly chime rang throughout the street, signalling the end of the work day.

Sliding on his hustler’s mask, charming smirk firmly in place, he called out to the line of suited lemmings pouring out of the bank, “Pawpsicles! Get your Pawpsicles!”

Nick watched as the first lemming heard his call and broke formation, causing the others to follow. One paw ready to grab cash, the other poised to pass down the treats, the fox worked quick in selling the merchandise.

With the last banker happily chipping away with their buck teeth, Nick turned toward the green recycling bin as he began to leaf threw the pile of bills, keeping an eye trained on the lemmings to ensure all the wooden sticks ended up where he wanted them to. The last lemming hadn’t even hit the half way mark to finishing the treat when he felt a tug on his favourite Pawaiian shirt.

Turning, Nick blinked in utter surprise as he looked downward to see a young red fox clutching the bottom of his shirt. Noticing that he had got the older foxes attention, the kit let go of his hold and stepped back enough so that Nick got a proper look at him. The young tod sported a pair of baize shorts and a blue t-shirt depicting a comic book superhero, Superbunny or other. What really stood out to Nick was his brilliant blue eyes, one of the brightest pair he had ever seen. His red fur looked healthy and brushed, a green canvas backpack hanging off both shoulders.

“Uh, hi, Mister.”

Nick blinked once more, before giving a slight shake of the muzzle, “Hey?”. The greeting came out as more of a question, the tod still confused as to where the kit had come from.

The young fox looked at him nervously for a moment, leaned his body to the side to glance behind him, then straightened to stare up at him again.

More confused than ever, Nick’s eyes flicked across the street, trying to find another fox that this one might belong to. When he came up empty, the tod focused back on the kit that was still gazing up at him silently, nose twitching. Nick’s eyebrows creased slightly at the odd behaviour; foxes didn’t twitch their noses unless trying to pick up a scent and as far as the tod could tell, they were alone on the street with the exception on Finnick. Though the kit wouldn’t have been able to smell him in any case; the recycling bin blocked his scent. “Can I help you with something, Kid?”.

The red fox blinked, as if he had forgotten why he had come up to him, “Oh!” he exclaimed and then rapidly shook his muzzle, “No, I mean, yes! Um, can I buy a Pawpsicle?”.

Nick couldn’t help the reply that burst from his query, “Yes! They’re Pawpsicles! Thank You!”.

He wanted badly to shoot a victorious look in Fin’s direction, or even just stick out his tongue at him, but he stopped himself for two reasons. One, it would have been pointless seeing as the sandy fox wouldn’t even be able to see it and, two, he didn’t want to draw attention to his hiding place. He didn’t need mammals asking too many questions, even if it was only a kit and what he was doing was _technically_ not illegal.

The young fox’s head had reeled back at the exuberant shout, bright blue eyes staring at him worriedly as if he could go savage at any moment.

“Ah, sorry, Kid. One Pawpsicle, no problem.” Turing to the ice chest, Nick was quick to notice that he had completely got rid of his merchandise stock. All that was left were the frozen cubes of water placed in the cart to keep the treats from melting.

Casually looking over his shoulder, mask firmly in place, the tod took in the elated face of the young kit. Patiently waiting two steps behind him, eyes impossibly wide as they stared at his back in anticipation, Nick quickly faced forward, feeling a pang in his heart. He couldn’t disappoint him. Though the young tod was a complete stranger to him, he was a fellow fox. Just from that fact alone, Nick knew that no matter what this kid did, he would always be regarded as the scum underneath other mammal’s hooves and paws.

The fox had vivid memories of his own childhood, of how his mom constantly struggled to pay the bills and support them both. How the feeling of loneliness became familiar to him as predators and prey alike didn’t want to be friends with a fox. How his dreams were crushed by the cruelness of reality at nine years old and he decided he’d give everyone the mammal they thought he was.

This kit didn’t even look to be that old but Nick could tell by a certain look in his blue, blue eyes that he had already been exposed to at least a small portion of a fox’s reality. It was a look he shared in his own eyes. Despite reality always coming to kick him down, his mom would always be there to raise him up in any way she could. If all Nick could do for this small kit was give him the pleasure of a cool treat on a hot day, then he would make sure it was done. Foxes had to stick with their own, support each other against the hate of all other mammals, despite the individual views of each fox. The kit would learn eventually, as he did, that he could only be what he was: a sly fox. But not today.

Turing on the heel of a hind paw, Nick faced him with his hustler’s smirk, “Actually, you are my lucky hundredth and one customer of the day! That means you get to have the special Pawpsicle I keep aside for the winners!”. In actuality, the Pawpsicle the tod spoke of was the extra one Nick always plucked from the batch for himself after a day of hustling. He kept it in the small ice chest Finnick stashed in the back of his van for his beers, to keep it cold.

The kit gasped, ears perked, and eyes growing to the point they looked like they’d pop right out of his head. A large smile beamed from his face, stretching ear to pointed ear, “Really?!” He squeaked, “I won the special Pawpsicle?”

“You betcha, Kiddo. I’ll go grab it from my Pawpsicle Truck and bring it out to present to you.”

Swiftly speed walking around to the ally along the far side of the bank, Nick popped open the van’s back doors and hopped into the chaos Finnick called a den. Kicking stray articles of clothing out of his path, the fox easily reached the red cooler that resided behind the front passenger seat for easy access when driving. Lifting the white lid, Nick’s green eyes immediately landed on the Pawpsicle he had stashed for himself. Grasping it between two fingers, he let the lid slam shut and, after securing the van, he jogged back to where he had left the kit standing by his cart.

Turning the corner, Nick watched the small fox as he rocked back and forth on his hind paws, clenching and unclenching the fist that held the bills. He saw the exact moment when the kit realized he had returned, pointed ears perked and swiveled in his direction, followed by his gaze. Even from a distance the tod could see the way his robin egg blue eyes lit up at the sight of him, zeroing in on the paw shaped treat he held in front of him.

“It’s really mine? The special Pawpsicle?” he called to him when he was only a few feet away.

“Yep!”. Nick handed the treat down to him as the kit took it with excited paws, staring at it in aww.

With the kit preoccupied, his mask slipped from his control for a split second and a small, genuine smile graced his lips. Then that second was over and he was a hustler again. Turning away from him, Nick went to collect the ice cart and bring it back to the van. The kit would be gone by then and Nick could give Fin the all clear to come out of the recycling bin.

He didn’t even get two steps, however, before he felt a tug at the hem of his shirt for the second that hour. The paw let go as he turned back to face the kit questioningly.

A twenty dollar bill was thrust in his face, Nick going cross-eyed as he tried to focus on the object inches from his black nose.

“Here’s the money, Mister.”

Nick stared at the bill silently, before slowly beginning to shake his head. He couldn’t take that, even if he was only taking two dollars of the twenty. On a fox’s salary, every cent helped. The tod could remember how hard his mom worked to pay for his Junior Ranger Scout uniform, all so that her kit could enjoy the pleasures that the other kits did. It was easy for him to imagine another vixen, also having to work night shifts at a shitty diner, saving all she could so she could give her son what many considered pocket change to buy a popsicle.

“What is this?” he questioned the kit dramatically, paw on chest as if affronted, “Don’t you know?”. Not waiting for an answer, he continued immediately, “Winners of the special Pawpsicle don’t pay! You are _bestowed_ this honourable stick of frozen liquid as my hundredth and one customer!”

Thinking that would be the end of it, Nick went to turn back around when he was stopped by the frantic shaking of the kit’s muzzle. The tod thought the small fox would have been overjoyed at this added benefit but he seemed slightly panicked, ears pinned against his scull.

“You have to take it!” he pleaded with him.

Now completely at a loss for what was happening, Nick’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared at him incredulously, “You want me to take your money?”

The kit’s frantic head shakes turned into vigorous nods, glad that the tod seemed to understand what he wanted, “Uh, why?”

The kit gave an exasperated sigh, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “I _can’t_ bring back the money. If I bring it back then mommy will think I didn’t go out for ice cream with the soccer team and then she’ll get suspicious. She _can’t_ get suspicious!”

Nick’s confusion eased, if only slightly. Just from those few sentences, he was able to get a vague idea of what was going on. This kit was a fox after all. He raised an eyebrow at him, “But you didn’t go out for ice cream with the soccer team.”

The kits eyes widened at the statement and his muzzle audibly snapped shut, refusing to give confirmation of what Nick already knew.

The tod gave a weary sigh before beginning, “Look Kid, I can’t just take your family’s money. I’m sure your mom worked really hard for it, right?” The kit nodded that what Nick said was true, “I’m sure this extra money will help to pay the bills or buy groceries. I’m sure you guys like crickets and fish, those are expensive.”

Again, the kit nodded, if a bit reluctantly, “But I still can’t take it home!” he insisted, pushing the bill toward the older tod again.

Nick wanted to argue; the fox was young, he didn’t understand how much twenty dollars was to fox family, how long it took to save. He opened his mouth to do just that when he registered the stubbornly determined look that pinched his small face. Nick could already tell this kit was a mammal that fought tooth and nail once his mind was made up. If the tod refused the bill, who knew what the kit would do to get rid of it so his mom would think he was part of the soccer team.

Nick slowly closed his maw, one paw raising to rub his forehead as he thought.

“Okay, I get it. You don’t want to take that money home with you, that’s fair. Hmm. How about this? I’ll take that twenty dollars as a sort of pre-payment. You’re not giving this to me, you’re paying for all the Pawpsicles I’m going to be supplying you with.”

Wide blue eyes stared at him, face the picture of surprise but Nick could see the hints of a grin curling his lips as he continued speaking.

“So, here’s the plan. I gonna be sticking to this Pawpsicle route for a while. Coming here everyday to open for business around five o’clock. I’ll make sure to hold a Pawpsicle aside for you so that each day after school you can come by and pick it up. That sound good to you?” Nick held out his paw, waiting to seal the deal.

The young fox was practically bouncing on the spot, very reminiscent of a bunny, canines flashing from the wide smile spread on his face. He clasped my paw with both of his, shaking it up and down with all the strength his small body could muster, “Yes, yes! Thank you, Mister!”

He realised his surprisingly strong grip, not even giving the older tod a chance to shake the feeling back into his paw before latching onto the wrist of the same hand and yanking him forward. Catching himself after stumbling slightly at the unexpected movement, Nick only realized what was happening when he felt the familiar texture of paper money in his paw. Once released from the kit’s possession, the tod quickly pocketed the crumpled bill as blue eyes trailed his movements.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t. I’m a salesman, I can’t have my reputation questioned.” The kit nodded, not really understanding what he meant but going along with it anyway, “And enough with the ‘Mister’, it makes me feel old.” The little voice in his head pipped up to remind him that he _was_ old but he quickly and unceremoniously told that little voice to _shove it_ , “My name is Nick.”

“Thank you, Nick!” he relayed his gratitude again.

“I told you not to mention it.”

“Mention what?” the kit asked, confused.

“Exactly!” the fox winked at him.

More confused than before, the young fox decided not to bother further questioning him, it probably didn’t matter anyway, “My name is Robin!” he proudly proclaimed to Nick.

Both of Nick’s eyebrows rose automatically at the information. Robin Hood was a well known and celebrated part of fox culture. You didn’t go around naming kit’s after him willy-nilly; those bearing his name were considered to be a shining example of what it meant to be a fox. Exemplifying Hood’s characteristics, such as justice and generosity.

“You got a nice name, Kid.”

Robin’s ears flicked backward, though not pressing against his head, a light look of annoyance beginning to grace his features, “You can call me Robi-”.

“I could,” Nick nodded, cutting him off, “Don’t worry about it, Red, it’s a compliment to be given a _Nick_ -Name”, the tod snickered at his own joke.

Robin didn’t look impressed, “That one didn’t even make any sense!” he complained, “You have red fur too!”

“That may be,” Nick began, a single finger pointing upward from a raised paw, “But I’m more of an orange-red, you, my friend, are a pure, bright red.”

The kit looked down at himself skeptically, not really buying the older fox’s logic. When he looked back up, another argument on his lips, he blinked at the empty space before him.

Head swiveling from side to side, it took him less than a moment to spot the lean fox, already half way down the block and wheeling the ice cart.

“Hey!”

Nick glanced back over his shoulder, still moving forward, as he shot Robin his hustler’s smirk, “A salesman’s day is never done, Kid. You better get heading on home to your mom; don’t want her getting suspicious.” He faced away just as he turned the corner into the alley, shouting back one last time, “See you tomorrow! Hang in there!” and he was gone.

***

Robin stared at the space where Nick had disappeared, lost as to what had just happened.

Internally shrugging, the red fox kit was just about to turn in the direction of his elementary school, in much higher spirits than when he had left, when a loud _bang_ caused him to jump in the air. Whirling in the direction the noise had originated, Robin froze in shock, completely unprepared for the sight before him. A fox kit, younger than himself, was casually walking out of the previously unnoticed recycling bin, decked out in an elephant onesie. Dragging a line of bins filled with wooden sticks behind him, the sand coloured fox didn’t seem to notice him until he ambled right in front of him.

He turned large, innocent eyes at the red fox who stood staring at him, jaw unhinged in complete bafflement. Robin didn’t even have time to voice one of his many questions when the kit’s pacifier hit the ground in a harsh motion, having been spit from his mouth.

“What are you looking at, Small-Fry?” came a deep baritone, before continuing on his path and turning down the alley Nick departed to, not waiting for an answer. Not that Robin could have responded if he wanted to, he was just lucky he didn’t drop his Pawpsicle as it seemed all his muscles gave way to his shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the time jump in the previous chapter caught a lot of you off guard but, like I said before, the main concept for this story always had Robin around this age. Robin was only supposed to be a baby for the first couple chapters, as a way to create a stronger background for how Judy came to adopt a fox kit. As you saw, the prologue kind of got away from me. The time jump was a way for me to move the story forward. As they come up in the narrative, I might even insert small flashbacks of baby Robin so you can also experience a few of his milestones.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Your Kudos and Comments are much appreciated; until next time!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE!  
> *Hides behind couch* Okay, so obviously I've been gone quite longer than I anticipated. Trust me, I was a reader long before I was a writer and I know how hard it is to be waiting on the next chapter from a beloved fanwork. For that, I'm really sorry. *Peeks over back of couch* I never forgot this fanwork and, as I have said before, have no plans to abandon it. To give you some context, the last time I posted a chapter I had just started my first full time job and I severally underestimated how much time I'd have left to write and how much of that time I would not be utterly exhausted. Good news: this was a contract position that will be over in a couple months and I will be able to update on a more frequent schedule. Bad news: I have no idea if I'll be able to post another chapter before then. I make no promises!  
> Despite all that, I had come back a couple times in the last few weeks to check on this fanwork and I can say with one hundred percent certainty that this chapter would not have been made before I finished my work contract if not for all your love and support. So don't think that your thoughts and comments don't matter because they mean the world to me!  
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this chapter!   
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and all of my OC's belong to me

Robin took the stairs two at a time, bypassing the elevator, as he raced up to the fifth floor where his family’s condo resided. The small fox was practically bouncing down the carpeted hallway, mouth open in a slight grin, before he finally skidded to a stop just past the door. He just couldn’t contain the warmth that lit up his chest from this newest development. Not only would he have somewhere to go, _someone_ to spend time with for the next few days, but he’d be getting a Pawpsicle out of it too.

Robin hadn’t met too many foxes in his life. There was always uncle Gid and his parents but Robin only saw them when they went up to the farm. Even then, most of that time was spent with his family, either helping out or playing with his numerous cousins. Of course, Robin had _seen_ other foxes here in the city but they were few and far between. The kit knew that there must have been more then the few that he’d glimpsed in the city center but he and his mom rarely ventured out of Zootopia’s heart.

His little body was beginning to vibrate with all the possibilities this new fox could bring. As far as Robin could tell, Nick seemed nice enough. The elder fox had wanted to make sure that he got what he paid for; telling him where and when he would be around so that Robin could pass by for his treat. He didn’t even know _what_ to think about that other fox he had seen but Robin shoved the worry aside for now. His nose was starting to unconsciously twitch as the delicious sent of his mom’s Carrot Cricket Stew wafted from under the front door.

Twisting the cold, metal handle, the fox let himself in; the door having been left unlocked for him. His right ear twitched toward the kitchen opening where he could hear his mom walking around, humming Gazelle’s latest hit as she worked.

Dropping his backpack by the front door, he headed toward the welcoming sight. As the kit suspected, his mom had her back to him, stirring a pot on the stove. She still wore her police uniform, as she often did. The bunny usually in too much of a rush to get dinner on the table for when he got home to be concerned about comfort. Though she made no move to turn around, her black-tipped, grey ears were slightly perked in his direction. Not fully erect as when she actively listens for a sound but they were high enough from their usually lazy flop that Robin’s familiar eye picked up on it.

Still, not one to be put off, the fox kit hunched his shoulders slightly, own ears high and directed on his target, with his tail out, fur on end like a bottlebrush. He could hear his mama’s voice echoing in his mind as he delicately placed placed one padded paw in front of the other, _Don’t hold your breath like that Robin, you’re liable to pass out. It makes your muscles all tense up and you risk tearing something if you go to move too fast. You need to keep relaxed so that your body can flow. Hear, watch me. Breath in through the nose. No, slower. Good, good. And now slowly breath out though the mouth. Yes, exactly like that. Focus on your goal, Bottlebrush, but make sure you are still aware of what’s around you. Let’s try again: Breath in. One, two, three. Breath out. One, two, three._

Bright blue eyes partially slitting as they focused on his goal, he moved closer. _Breath in. One, two three. Breath out. One, two, three._ Back legs tensing once within the last three feet, the fox pounced, mouth open wide. He hadn’t even crossed half the distance when the grey rabbit did a one-eighty spin in his direction, arms held open. The fox’s eyes widened, head reeling back in an effort to change direction, but his momentum wouldn’t allow it. Smacking head first into his prey, grey arms wound around him like a vice before it attacked.

Struggle all he might, Robin was no match for his mother’s hardened muscles and he finally succumbed to his fate, barraged under her affectionate kisses with no mercy. Forehead, cheeks, and nose thoroughly smooched, the bunny didn’t let up until she had firmly chinned the top op his head, ignoring all protests.

“Mom!”, Robin yipped in protest as he finally managed to wrench himself free, frantically trying to smooth down the fur on his head.

Looking at her son with too innocent, amethyst eyes, Judy blinks in pretend confusion, “What? Is something wrong, Bottlebrush? Were you not going for a hug?”

Fur finally back in place, Robin gives her an unimpressed look, ears pressed firmly back against his scull, “You know I wasn’t.”, then, exasperated, “I can never get you! It’s impossible with your ears!”

Judy smiles gently at him, gathering him close to give him a quick snuggle, “You’ll get me eventually, Robin. It just takes practice. And, yes, my ears are a big advantage but every mammal is going to have some type of advantage and you will have to learn how to overcome them. Don’t worry too much; for your age, you are an amazing pouncer. Right now, your prey is just too advanced.”

Grumbling under his breath, but knowing that his mom is right, Robin snuggles back. Burying his head in her neck, he inhales her familiar, lavender scent. The scent of warmth, love, safety, and home. Though he’d rather _die a horrible death_ than tell anyone, this was his favourite place in the whole, wide world. He doesn’t protest when the grey bunny chins him again.

Finally, standing back up straight, Judy turns toward the stove to give the large pot another stir. She had made a large batch; enough for three times of leftovers she could use during the next week and not have to worry about cooking something new.

Judy listens as her kit walks back to the front door to grab his backpack, sitting it down at the kitchen table to take out his homework.

“So”, she begins, placing a lid on the pot and turning the stove dial down to low to allow the soup to simmer. She turns to face the fox, carefully leaning back so that she rested her weight against the lip of the stove, “How was the soccer game? Did you win?”

It took all the small mammals will not to freeze, worksheet halfway out of the green canvas bag, “Uh, it was good.” Robin started slowly, paper finishing its journey to the wooden kitchen table, “We didn’t win, though.”

The fox hopped this ‘sad’ news would hinder his curious mother from a long line of questions, assuming Robin wouldn’t want to talk about it. He was right.

“Oh, Bottlebrush, that’s too bad. You can’t win them all, but as long as you keep trying, I’ll always be proud of you. I don’t want you to start buying into grandpa’s ‘ _If you never try, you’ll never fail’_ motto. You keep trying, alright? Keep moving forward.”

Robin gave his mom a genuine smile at that, little canines peaking out from his bottom lip. This was why he loved his mom so much, why he couldn’t disappoint her with the truth. That he wasn’t he allowed to try, that he had given up on trying for the soccer team when it became clear he wasn’t wanted.

Even though he knew it wasn’t true, that his mom loved him, that self-conscious part of him still whispered in the back of his mind that if his mom knew other mammals didn’t want him, she would realise she didn’t want him either.

Technically, he wasn’t her responsibility to begin with. His mother had never kept it a secret that he was adopted (not that she really could, it was kind of blatantly obvious to him once he was old enough to discern the different species); had told him the story of how he had come into her life. Even explained the story of her cheek scar to him (and he had, had words with Uncle Gid about that) and how she had been afraid of foxes even if she hadn’t wanted to be. That it was _him_ , Robin, that had made her realise that she shouldn’t be afraid and made her realise how badly some mammals are treated for their differences.

“Well, I at least hope you didn’t gorge yourself on ice cream. I’m making our favourite.”, Judy’s voice shook the kit out of his thoughts.

“No, I promise, mommy. I want soup, it smells so good!”

“Good boy. The soup still has to simmer for ten minutes and then I’ll dish it out. Can you set the table for me?”

Nodding, Robin hopped off the chair, gathering his school supplies to dump in his room. He had just turned out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the second bedroom when his mother called again.

“Oh, Robin!”

“Yes!” he called back, continuing on his path.

“Did you get any money back for the ice cream?”

This time, Robin couldn’t stop his body from freezing at the question. He thanked his namesake, Robin Hood, and all his Merry Men that his mother was till in the kitchen and didn’t see his body’s guilty reaction.

Clearing his throat, the kit called back, “Uh, no. There wasn’t any.”

He stayed poised in his frozen position, ears straining toward the kitchen for any kind of indication toward his mother’s response.

“Oh, wow.”, came the astonished reply, “I swear, prices these days are going up the carrot patch. That’s fine, Robin. I was just wondering. And make sure you wash those paws before you come to set the table!”, was her last call, before she went back to stirring.

Though relieved, the young fox could feel slight knots forming in his stomach in guilt. He didn’t realise his mommy was expecting change, he just wanted to get rid of the money so she thought he was hanging out with friends after the school soccer game. He did his best to shake those thoughts away though. The money _did_ pay for a treat today and Robin would make sure to collect on the rest.

***

Just like the day before, Robin slipped from the silent school library at 4:30 to make his way onto the street. The difference about today is that the red fox kit had a specific destination in mind and he was excited to get there.

By the time Robin found himself across the road from Lemming Brothers Bank, Nick was just wheeling up his Pawpsicle cart. Not wanting to get in his way, the kit waited at the street corner, bouncing in place.

The fox kit could not help but stare in aww as he watched the procession in earnest from afar. It was like clockwork. The bell would chime the hour, the bank workers all leaving for the day, when suddenly the procession would break formation. Turning toward the delectable treats the other red fox offered. The Pawpsicle and money exchange was fast and efficient, no fumbling hands or sticky paws. It was something he knew his mom would appreciate.

Blinking back to reality, Robin realised that the last lemming was just turning the corner when the same weird fox kit from before burst out and dragged the recycling bins away. Frantically turning back to where Nick was standing earlier, Robin let out a shy of relief to see that he hadn’t left with his product now sold. Instead, he stood leaning against the brickwork, red fur shining under the evening sun. And he was staring straight at him.

Robin swallowed his gasp of surprise and straightened, ears coming to an alert position. Rearranging the backpack on his shoulders, the kit quickly looked both ways before jogging across the road to meet Nick.

“Hi Nick!”

The fox’s lips quirked upward in a sly smile, head tilting down to look at the kit, “Hey Red. How’s it going? You manage to convince your all-knowing mom that you were out with the team last night?”

“Well, I don’t think she was suspicious so I should be okay for now.”

Nick hummed that he understood and straightened to start walking toward the side ally, “Always happy to help a fellow fox. I got your Pawpsicle in the van’s ice chest so that it didn’t melt on ya. Wait here a second.”

Nick disappeared for a minute and returned carrying a Pawpsicle in one paw, “Here you go, Kid, as promised. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Handing the frozen treat over, Nick turned to head back to Finnick’s van. They still had ‘lumber’ to deliver, after all.

He hadn’t made it two steps when his keen ears picked up a small, disappointed “oh” from behind him. Against his better judgment, Nick turned back to the kit. The happy smile that had been on his face was no where to be found, eyes lowered to the ground and ears drooped impossibly low.

Turning against his better judgment for the second time in as many seconds, Nick called to him, “Hey, Red? What’s eating you? Do you not like cherry?”

The fox turned the saddest blue eyes Nick had ever seen up toward him. They weren’t teary but for how much they resembled the ocean right before a thunderstorm, they might as well have been.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just-”, the kit cut himself off, struggling with whether or not he should tell the other fox.

“Come on, Red, you can tell me. I’m not gonna bite.”

Still slightly at war with himself, the kit ended up caving, “Well, it’s just that I thought you’d stay with me for a bit.”

Nick’s absolute shock at this development must have shown on his face for the kit hurried to say, “Forget it, it’s stupid. You probably have important stuff to do, I’m sorry.”, and went to hurry away.

“Hey, wait! Slow down there, Red.”, the fox just moved faster, “Kid!”, nothing, then, “Robin!”

The fox kit stopped, slowly turning back toward him. Robin’s nose was twitching up as storm, his eyes anxious and his whole body expressing the embarrassment he felt by his inquiry to the older fox.

Personally, Nick couldn’t fathom why any kit would want to spend time with him. Mammals, who weren’t foxes, always warned their kits against his species. Telling grandiose tales of the devil fox who tricked and lied and stole from one distant relative or another. Most knew to keep clear, some taking on more aggressive prejudice characteristics and shouting insults to any passing fox.

While fox kits knew better than that, that foxes are not what all other mammal species like to make them out to be, they were still given warnings. To keep away from shady characters, hustlers like himself.

However, though Nick couldn’t be one hundred percent certain yet, Robin looks to be in a situation that he had once been in: shunned and not knowing why. Vulnerable and looking for a friend. And Nick had unwittingly provided that acceptance when he had made the deal for the Pawpsicle.

Grimacing at his blunder, Nick looked at the young fox, “Look, Kid-”, he wasn’t allowed to finish.

“Don’t worry about it!”, Robin laminated, “It’s fine, I know it was silly to ask. I’ll just go back to the school and have my Pawpsicle there.”, he moved to turn back in the direction he’d come before Nick called out again.

“Now, wait a minute. When did I say that it was silly?”

Nick waited for a response that he knew wouldn’t come, “Exactly. I got nothing better to do.”, not a total lie. Selling mice ‘red wood lumber’ wasn’t the ‘better’ choice in the context of legality, “I can spend a few minutes chatting. In fact, I saved myself a Pawpsicle, too. I’ll go grab it and we can head to the park down the road so that we have a place to sit. That sound good?”

Turning away, the fox didn’t even see Robin’s dumb nod as he quickly jogged down the ally to meet the graffiti covered van. Fin sat in the passenger seat, sunglasses perched on his head as he played a game on his phone.

“Yo, Wilde. What’s the hold up? I don’t want to be in this elephant costume longer than necessary.”, came his deep baritone, game now paused on the screen.

One red arm came up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck, “You see, Fin, somethings just come up and I need you to wait for a bit longer.”

Dark eyes narrowed on the tall fox in a burning glare, “Whatcha mean ‘something came up’”, the fennec mocked Nick.

“I mean, ‘something came up’. Look, we’ll still have plenty of time to get out to the construction sight but I gotta do something first.”

Finnick’s eyes narrowed even further before he finally turned away, eyes rolling in agitation but too lazy to start an argument with the stubborn fox.

Nick’s wide grin displayed his prominent canines, “Thanks, bud! I love ya, I owe ya!”, before quickly walking around back to grab his own Pawpsicle.

He could hear Fin grumbling in the front seat, “You owe me so much Wilde, you’d never be out of my debt if I actually collected. You’re damn lucky I like you.”

Nick smirked at the fennec’s monologue but kept quiet, slamming the back door closed and making his way back to the lost looking kit.

“Come on, Kid.”, Nick waved his arm for the kit to follow him, “I know a great spot for us to kick back.”

Robin smiled shyly at him before hurrying to catch up.

Making their way down the block and into one of Zootopia’s many parks, Nick led them to a secluded park bench near the border of the park. Sitting at an end, the older fox patted the space next to him, silently inviting the kit to sit beside him.

Cautiously shimmying onto the bench, Robin looked around them, enjoying the slight, cool breeze provided by trees overhead. He gave his Pawpsicle a few cursory licks, stopping the sweat from dripping onto his paw in a stick mess. After a few moments of silence, Robin chanced a glance at the fox beside him.

He was leaning back against the wooden bench, head tipped toward the sky with his eyes closed. The slight curl to his mouth hinting that he was also enjoying the breeze.

Feeling the kit’s blue eyes on him, Nick cracked one of his green eyes open to peer down at the small, red fox. When the kit didn’t look away, Nick huffed, fully opening his eyes and started working on his own Pawpsicle.

“So”, he finally began when it became clear Robin wasn’t going to initiate a conversation, “want to tell me what’s going on in school?”

Robin’s small body tensed before quickly relaxing again, “No.”

Nick raised an eyebrow at the curt response but respected the kit’s privacy. It wasn’t really any of his business and he wasn’t the kit’s father so he wasn’t going to pry, “Okay, then. How about you tell me what you want to tell me and I’ll listen?”

Thinking for a moment, the kit nodded that this arrangement was satisfactory before stating, “I couldn’t understand the math problem Mrs. Flattail gave for homework.”

“Uh”, Nick begins, not really sure what to say to that, “And you want help?”

Robin smiles wide at him and gives a succession of head nods while reaching for his canvas backpack with his free hand, Pawpsicle held delicately in the other, “Ya, thanks.”

Nick blinks as he is suddenly presented with an open, second grade, math textbook and the fox can’t remember when he agreed to this.

“You see”, Robin points to the question for Nick’s orientation, “I have to do questions one, two, five, six, and seven. I was trying to work on it in the library but I don’t think I’m doing it right.”

Robin sits back quietly after explaining, trying to give Nick the opportunity to look the problems over. The elder fox blinks at the textbook before looking down into Robin’s hopeful blue eyes as he kneels on the bench, waiting patiently for Nick to help him. Looking back to the textbook, Nick sighs and shrugs his shoulders at his own helplessness to the situations he gets himself into.

Looking over the questions, Nick quickly figures out that the kit is learning long division and multiplication. Though it had been awhile since he had performed all the steps, the red fox had always been good with numbers (he needed to be in his profession) and began to explain as best he could to the young kit.

“Okay, well, I think our best bet is to go through some examples and then try our hand at these problems”, Nick begins, reaching for a stray piece of paper sticking out of Robin’s bag. Balancing the textbook in his lap, Nick moves the Pawpsicle to his left hand and takes the offered pencil from the kit in his right, “Now, let’s say I make one hundred Pawpsicles tomorrow and I sell them for two dollars a piece-”

Robin interrupts him, “Two hundred dollars.”

Nick straightens in surprise, looking over at the kit quizzically. Seeing the tod’s confusion at his fast response, Robin explains, “That’s multiplication. I _know_ multiplication. My mommy’s amazing at it and she taught me when I was really little.” Gesturing toward the textbook, Robin pointed at one of the problems halfway down the page, “I just can’t figure out the division. I usually ask my mom but she’s always so tired after work and I don’t like asking her all the time.”

Nick felt his heart twinge within his chest. The more information he had, the more he realised how similar Robin’s story was sounding. And that didn’t sit well with the older fox.

“Well, okay then, Mr. Clever Fox. Let’s look at those nasty division problems.”

And so it went, for the next eight days and then continued on after that. Neither fox acknowledged that their deal had long-since been completed. When Robin began to wait at the park for Nick immediately after school let out and Nick started to come early to meet him, leaving only for ten minutes at five to sell the product before reclaiming his seat on the park bench, neither fox said a word.

***

From an abandoned train car underground, a white ram spoke into the cell phone held between his shoulder and ear, snapping the briefcase in front of him closed, “So”, he spoke lazily to the sheep on the other end, “what’s the mark?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your Kudos and Comments give me life and motivation! See you lovely, fabulous, readers next time!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are that I got a chapter out so soon.  
> I'm going with the theory I was hit over the head by the Inspiration Fairies.  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and all of my OC's belong to me

“Right; and Vincent van Goat was most famous for painting?” Nick trailed off, waiting for the kit sitting beside him on the park bench to finish his sentence.

The young tod’s eyebrows furrowed, nose twitching rapidly in thought before shouting with triumph, “The Starry Night!”

Nick’s smile widened, teeth glinting in the evening light, “Exactly. I don’t think you need to worry about that art test tomorrow, Kid. You’re doing-” A loud chime from the clock a block away cut the fox off.

Green eyes widened in shock at what that chime meant. The tod had lost track off time, again, and he’d have to book it over to the Pawpsicle stand Finnick would have set up five minutes ago.

“I gotta run, bud.” Nick started as he hopped off the bench, quickly walking backwards towards the park’s entrance, “Keep memorizing those facts, I’ll be back in two shakes of the tail.”

Robin watched as Nick turned and began to jog away from him until he could no longer see the older fox. These past couple of months had been the happiest the kit had had in awhile. Not that he hadn’t _been_ happy; he loved his mom and his home life was great. It was more that, whenever he was at school, other kids would avoid him. It wasn’t like he was a major social butterfly to begin with, foxes are pretty solitary mammals after all, but it seemed that ever since the soccer try-outs, no one wanted to do anything with him. Whenever Mrs. Flattail had the class work in pairs on an assignment, no one would want to be with him on the grounds that he’d cheat or steal all his partners ideas and take the credit or whatever new excuse they would come up with.

The fox kit let out a desolate sigh at the thought, frowning at the ground, before his ears perked and a smile twitched at his lips. _It wasn’t all bad now_ , he reminded himself. Now, he had something to look forward too. He’d go to school every morning with his mind set on the dismissal bell, when he could go hang out with Nick. Nick who would help him with his homework so that he didn’t have to bother his mom when she came home tired from work, who would play with him or just listen to him talk if he had a particularly hard day at school.

Robin had brought up the topic of fox prejudice to Nick one day a couple weeks ago, wanting to know if maybe the older tod knew why so many mammals didn’t like foxes. Wanting to know if there was something he could change to make mammals not so hateful and afraid of foxes. Much to his disappointment, the fox could do nothing but shrug his shoulders, ears laying back against his head at the topic. _I wish I knew that myself, Kid_ , Nick had told him, _and I promise, if I ever find out, you’ll be the first mammal I tell_.

Robin wished it was as easy as reassuring his classmates that he was honest and good, like he had his grandpa.

_When the fox kit had turned the ripe age of five, his mom decided it was best that he knew about certain Fox Away products. The mother-son duo was going on one of their much-anticipated trips to Bunnyburrow and, while banned from the Hopps household, Fox Away products were still sold in all general stores across the farming community. With Robin being of the age where he liked to get into things he shouldn’t, the rabbit mother wanted to make sure that her son was aware of these products and that he knew not to touch them. While Judy’s motherly instincts were appalled at the thought of exposing her young son to such realities, she was also a police officer and she knew how important it was for all mammals (no matter the age) to know about weapon safety._

_She had sat Robin down and made sure he understood just how dangerous some of these repellents could be. The bunny’s heart squeezed in pain as her son asked why there were anti-fox products and she had to explain to him that some mammals thought foxes were more dangerous than other mammals, “They’re wrong!” she had stressed, and that these products made them feel safe, “But that doesn’t make them right! Hate is never the answer to something you don’t understand.”_

_Judy told him of how grandpa used to be scared too, because he didn’t understand, but that Robin had helped him understand like he had helped her. Robin had become quiet after that, retreating to his room until it was time to leave for the train station the next morning._

_When they arrived at her childhood home, her parents waving from the top of the driveway, Robin didn’t even spare them a hello. Marching up to his grandfather, he grabbed him by the paw, leading him onto the front porch, and then guided him to sit on the porch swing. With two confused pairs of violet eyes following the two, they watched as the fox kit clumsily climbed into his grandpa’s lap and wrapped his arms around his neck in a hug. The equally confused brown eyes of Stu Hopps looked to his daughter in question before looking down at his only red furred grandkit. The buck didn’t even get the chance to return the hug before Robin was leaning back and looking him right in the eyes._

_“You don’t need to be afraid of me, grandpa. I promise. I’ll never, ever hurt you. You don’t need Fox Away.”, The rabbit buck’s eyes had widened at the first statement but by the time the young fox had finished, Stu’s eyes were bulging from his head and his buck teeth were on full display as he gaped._

_Robin continued, though, nonplussed, “Mama told me you were scared before she adopted me ’cause you didn’t understand. But foxes are good, I promise! I use my claws to help dig up roots in the garden and! and! My teeth are good for eating carrots like yours. See!” Robin held up his paws while simultaneously opening his mouth to run his tongue along his sharp canines._

_Watching as his grandkit earnestly tried to prove to him that he wasn’t dangerous, that he didn’t have to be scared of him, broke something in the old rabbit. Stu felt like his heart cracked from the pressure of his guilt. Not even attempting to stay his tears, the buck burst into sobs and wrapped his arms around the fox, burying his face in the scruff of his neck._

_Amethyst eyes swimming, Judy’s acute hearing could pick up he father’s mumbled “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” from where she stood beside her equally teary mother._

Robin was shaken from his musings as his ear twitched toward the sound of an approaching mammal. Recognizing the gait, the kit’s tail began to wag as his feet instinctually thumped the ground in excited anticipation.

When Nick came around the last bend, Robin immediately noticed the fox holding something else with the two Pawpsicles.

Passing the soccer ball to the kit in an underhand toss, Nick gave him a sly smile, “I thought we could kick the ball around after we finish these”, he waved the Pawpsicles in the air, “Maybe learn some knew moves to show your mom?” Nick’s eyebrow raised with his inquiry.

Robin’s answering smile was blinding.

Now, while maintaining a sleek build, Nick was not an active fox. This became more apparent when, after just thirty minutes of chasing around the ball, he was severely winded and had a stitch burning into his side.

Tongue lolling out of his mouth and panting for breath, the older tod made a large time-out gesture, and went to go sit down on the park bench. Feet only able to drag, he made the executive decision that the park bench was just too damn far and flopped down on the grass, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the dying sunlight.

Not half a minute later, he felt Robin lay down beside him, soccer ball at his side.

Looking over at Nick, the kit frowned slightly, brow puckered in concern, “Are you okay?”

Resisting a snort, the tod peaked out from behind his arm to look into the other’s blue eyes, “Ya, Kid, I’m good. Just old is all.”

Robin continued to frown. His mommy was old too, but she didn’t get so tired after just one soccer game. _But_ , the kit reminded himself, _his mom worked out_ all _the time. She had better abs than his gym teacher._

Noticing the slight confusion marring the kits face, Nick questioned, “Oh, what? Are you gonna tell me that your mom is just a bundle of energy and doesn’t get tired after playing with you?”

“Yes.”, Robin answered simply.

Huffing under his breath, he gives the young fox the stink eye, “Way to make me feel ancient here, Kid. Isn’t there any other games you like to play together? Hide and seek, maybe? Or a board game?”

Blue eyes widened in excitement, “Oh! Cops and robbers! That’s my favourite, and my mom’s too! We could play that, there’s not as much running like with soccer.”

“It sounds like a lot of running to me, Kid.”

_It also sounds like a weird game for a fox to enjoy, considering society’s view of us as thieves_ , Nick kept to himself, _but I guess if you’re playing with other foxes, it wouldn’t be as bad. No other mammals to insist they have to play the robber because, of course, that’s all foxes ever were._

Not put out in the slightest, the kit smiles at him with a flash of teeth, “That’s okay. It wouldn’t be as fun without mommy’s handcuffs anyway.”

At Robin’s words, Nick imperceptibly tensed and, turning his head to fully face him, slowly questioned, “Handcuffs?”

The tod’s mind raced frantically, telling him that, generally, mammals only owned handcuffs if they were a cop or for–

“Ya,” Robin began jovially, not noticing anything was wrong, “it’s the only time she lets me play with them. She gets scared that I might lose them, even though I’m _always_ really careful, because she needs them for work”, giving a little huff, he continues, “Mom says they’re only supposed to be used on mammals who are naughty but I-”

Though the kit went on, Nick could no longer hear him as he silently choked on his own tongue, _she needs them for_ work _?_ _Mammals who were_ naughty _!?_

_Oh, God_ , Nick struggled to hold in his longsuffering groan, _it’s exactly what I’d hoped against._

Of course, it had always been a possibility with the extremely limited amount of jobs out there for foxes. Despite the species mating for life, instinct driving them to stay loyal to one mammal even after death, Nick knew that some vixens had no other choice available. Not when the alternative was no food on the table. Especially not when that table housed a hungry kit.

He’d just hoped that Robin’s mom had found work in a run-down diner; that she was making enough to support the two of them. But, no. Robin had just confirmed it.

With no vixens on the force (not like they’d _let_ one on the force) and, based off the information he’d pieced together from what the kit had told him, no mate at home, that left only one option.

Robin’s mom was a hooker.

***

Judy sighed as she studied the board at the front of the bullpen, morning sunlight streaming through the blinds. It outlined all the mammals that had gone missing in recent weeks and the officers of Precinct One seemed no closer to cracking this case then they had when the first mammal was reported missing. The count was up to fourteen now and it was still growing. Worst of all, whomever was taking these mammals seemed to be targeting predators. The only relief Judy had was that only adults had been reported missing so far, but that could easily change.

The bunny gave a full body shudder, trying to rid herself of the distressing thought. Before she could refocus on trying to find location connections, the bullpen door opened to reveal the hulking form of the Chief of Police.

Not even trying to be diplomatic in getting his officers to settle down, Bogo gets right to the point, “Shut it!”

With a quick glance around the room to make sure he has their attention, the cape buffalo continues “At this point, we have fourteen missing mammal cases. All predators; from a giant polar bear to a teensy little otter. And City Hall is _right_ up my tail to find them! This is priority number one.”

As the chief received the individual case files, Judy leaned slightly forward in her seat, the slight thrill of the chase making her want to move. Placing his reading glasses on the bridge of his snout, Bogo began, “Assignments! Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Dalgoto: your team takes missing mammals from the rainforest district!”

The rabbit officer wasn’t too surprised when, not even a minute later, she heard the buffalo assign her to Sahara Square. It was where she had been placed for the last week; her body being more forgiving to the warm sun then it would have to the bitter cold.

The only problem was, they were getting no where fast. The first mammal went missing seventeen days ago, and another one went missing almost everyday after that. With the first twenty-four hours being the most critical in these situations, it was beyond frustrating that she couldn’t find hide or tale of any of them.

It wasn’t just Judy either, none of the officers could seem to find a substantial lead. No matter how thoroughly they cased the location they were last seen at, or how many mammals they interviewed, the trail would dry up.

Judy gave her head a good shake as she jumped down from her seat and onto the old tile floor of the bullpen, _don’t get into that head space, Jude_ , she told her self, _it does no one any good if you can only think about your failures_.

Following the large rhino, currently holding the Sahara Square case files, down the hallway and into the front atrium, Judy lifted her paw and began to call out a goodbye to the bubbly cheetah when she saw he was already talking with someone. 

As she got closer, Judy’s ears swivelled in their direction, picking up the distressed tone of the otter woman’s speech.

“ _Please, I need to speak to Chief Bogo! My husband has been missing for ten days; his name is Emmitt Otterton. He’s a florist. We have two beautiful children, he would never just disappear.”_

_Ears lowered, Clawhauser responded gently, “I understand but you need to be patient and wait in line like everyone else, okay?”_

The bunny’s brows furrowed in thought, completely halting her stride as she stared at the two. Buck teeth showing as she bit her lower lip in indecision, Judy glanced toward the officers who stood waiting for her at the door before looking back toward the front desk.

Watching as the woman nearly broke down in the middle of the precinct, Judy made up her mind. Calling toward her team, the bunny urged them to go ahead, that she had to talk with the chief real quick and they should get started without her. Other than a few odd looks, they didn’t put up a fuss and soon the rabbit was climbing the curved staircase toward Bogo’s office.

The chief was studying his personal map of the missing mammals when Judy entered. Turing in surprise, Bogo looked down at his smallest officer, having expected her to already be off site.

“I know you assigned me to continue the search for missing mammals in Sahara Square”, trying her hardest not to fidget under his direct gaze, she continued the speech she had rehearsed in her head for the thirty seconds it took to walk up the stairs, “but the rest of the team and I have scoured the area five times over and talked to every mammal that could possibly have a clue as to what happened or know of a link between the victims. We still can’t seem to get any traction in the case and I was hoping that I could take a different approach.”

Bogo raised an eyebrow at the young cop but, not giving him a chance to respond in the negative, Judy plowed on, “I want to take on an individual case. It’s clear from the tight time-period that the mammals were taken, the cases are related. Either one mammal, or multiple mammals working for the same group, are behind this. But knowing that doesn’t matter if we still have no idea why, how, or where these missing mammals now are. Continuing the search the way we have isn’t getting us anywhere. I believe that if I devout all my concentration to one case, look at it as an individual instead of a whole, I may be able to pick up some leads that wouldn’t have come to light otherwise. I believe that if I can find one mammal, we’ll likely find the rest with them. When large numbers of mammals are kidnapped like this, they tend to be brought to the same place. At least for a time. I-”.

Judy would have continued on her rant if not for the crackle of the desk intercom coming to life, followed by Clawhauser’s slightly distorted voice, “Uh, chief? Mrs. Otterton is hear to see you again.”

Seeing the perfect segue, the rabbit jumped on it, “I can take Emmitt Otterton’s case file. His wife’s already here and I can get background infor-”.

Judy was interrupted once again, “Shut your tiny mouth now!”

Sighing in desolation, Bogo calmed himself slightly before continuing, “Otterton’s case file was the smallest of all fourteen mammals, Hopps. More than that, he was one of the first mammals reported missing. _If_ we were to try your angle, it would be more beneficial to use a case with more information and a fresher trail.”

While logic said the chief was right in his deductions, Judy couldn’t help but hear the hopelessness of Mrs. Otterton’s plead ringing in her ears. Couldn’t help but imagine his two sons crying in bed at night, wanting their dad back. Couldn’t help but replace his sons with a small red fox, crying for his missing mom.

“Even so chief, I want to try.”

This time, Bogo’s sigh was in frustration.

“Hopps-”, the office door burst open, a small otter slipping in with an out of breath Clawhauser right behind her.

One hand resting on his back, the other on his knee as he bent forward, the spotted feline whispered through laboured breaths, “Sorry, sir. I tried to stop her; she is super slippery.”, a pause, then, “I gotta go sit down.”

Unbothered by what was going on around her, Mrs. Otterton came forward, a photograph in paw, “Chief Bogo, please. Five minutes of your time. Please.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, the buffalo prepared himself to tell the worried otter, _again_ , that his officers were doing everything they could and that these things take time, when he stopped himself. Mrs. Otterton had been back to the station everyday since her husband went missing and while the chief could understand her fear, the constant interruptions weren’t helping him get any further in the case.

Hopps, despite his early reservations at having a rabbit on the force, was one of his most competent officers. She had closed more cases than any other mammal of her seniority and never failed to show just how brilliant her mind was. All while singlehandedly raising a fox kit.

If any of his officers where going to get anywhere with a dead-end case, it’d be this rabbit. Not that he’d ever tell her that.

It would also have the added benefit of keeping the otter out of his horns while Hopps conducted the search. Yes, he could work with this.

Moving to stand in front of her, he gestured toward the rabbit, “Mrs. Otterton, while our detectives are very busy, Officer Hopps has just volunteered to take on individual cases to search for new leads. She would like to begin with your husband’s case file, if you would be amendable to providing more information?”

Green eyes instantly welling with tears, she rushed Judy in a hug, “Oh, thank you! Bless you little bunny!”

With a small sniff, she retreated and handed the family photo to her, “Here, take this. I’ll tell you anything you need to know. Anything, if it’ll help find my Emmitt.”

***

Mrs. Otterton now gone, Judy made her way to Clawhauser for the complete case file, her notepad carrying collateral information.

The otter had been very helpful in providing her husbands weekly routine and a list of places her husband tended to frequent. The bunny had to resist the childish urge to hop the rest of the way, as she spotted the front desk. Judy was already forming a game plan in her mind, where she wanted to visit first and who would be the best mammals to speak too. She had a good feeling about this; she just knew that a lead wouldn’t be far behind.

Clawhauser smiled as he caught sight of the rabbit’s erect ears, file in one paw, donut in the other, with his tail lashing behind him in excitement.

“Got your missing otter right here for ya, Judy!”, sprinkles scattering across the desk as he waved the brightly coloured donut in the air.

“Thanks, Ben”, Judy leaped onto the rolling chair, meticulously brushing away sprinkles before flipping open the slim file.

Amethyst eyes widened in shock as she took in just how much _nothing_ they had on this mammal’s disappearance, “What! This can’t be everything!”

Reading over her shoulder, the cheetah sucked in a quick breath as he saw what had caused Judy’s reaction, “Yikes! That’s the smallest case file I’ve ever seen!”

As Clawhauser continued to lament her lack of information, the bunny’s ears lowered until they rested dejectedly against her back. She hadn’t even _started_ her investigation, this couldn’t be the end. Mrs. Otterton was counting on her to bring her kits father home.

“Okay, okay”, she whispered to herself, “what _do_ I know?”

Giving the single sheet of paper another quick scan, she zeroed in on the picture provided by a street-cam for the otters last known sighting.

Flipping open her notebook, she jotted down what Emmitt had been wearing at the time of his disappearance and the street intersection. She could use that information to cross-reference what she knew about the otter from his wife’s statement.

The bunny was just about to put away her pen when she squinted, lifting the case file closer to her eyes.

Paw raised to his mouth, Mr. Otterton held what looked to be a red popsicle, uniquely shaped to look like a mammal’s paw print.

Judy hummed in thought, lowering the file back to the desk. Mrs. Otterton hadn’t mentioned any sweet shops in the list of her husband’s favourite stores. _But_ , her mind interjected, _you know the intersection he was at when he had the popsicle in paw. He couldn’t have gone that far from where he bought it before it would have started to melt. And!_ her ears perked in excitement as her train of thought ran ahead of her, _the person who sold it to him_ might _know where he was headed next!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick shout-out to Anteroinen for the hilarious idea of having Nick assume Judy is a stripper (I took it a bit further, sorry not sorry) based on something Robin said. I have a pretty solid outline of what's going to happen in the story already but I just loved the idea so much I had to add it.  
> Thank you loads for your Comments and Kudos!  
> See you lovely readers next time.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers! Thank you so much for being patient with me - I hope I can start posting more regularly soon, but no promises. Enjoy the chapter!  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and all of my OC's belong to me

After having all but vaulted over Clawhauser’s desk in her excitement to get on the road, Judy had raced to the last spot Mr. Otterton was known to be seen. Once standing on the intersection he had been just ten days before, the rabbit officer chose a street at random and began casing for shops that sold popsicles. Being in the downtown area, the surrounding streets were not lacking for small cafés and mom-and-pop diners that could potentially have sold her first lead in the case. Judy let out a resigned sigh, knowing she had a long afternoon of walking and no guarantee it would result in anything helpful to her search.

The first shop she came across was a run-of-the-mill convenience store, mammals weaving around her as she stood by the store-front. Her buck teeth gnawed on her bottom lip as she contemplated going in. The popsicle Mr. Otterton had been enjoying was uniquely shaped and she doubted they were sold in a regular variety store but she couldn’t, in good conscious, rule anything out.

With a nod of determination, Judy griped the smaller mammals handle bar and shoved the heavy glass door open. The overhead bell jingled with her arrival, the bored antelope behind the cash register not even bothering to look up from the newspaper he was flipping through. Judy payed it no mind as she zeroed in on the blue floor freezer that sat pressed against the far back wall with long strides.

With one easy leap, the grey bunny was kneeling on top of the cool glass separating her from multiple frozen treat option. A quick scan let her know what she suspected; nothing like the red paw-shaped popsicle lay inside. _No matter_ , she thought, _it wasn’t like I expected to find the right store on the first try anyway._

Pulling her notepad from her back pocket, Judy slipped out the zoomed in photograph of Mr. Otterton’s popsicle, replacing the notepad in her pocket. Jumping down, Judy made her way over to the tall counter and cleared her throat to gain the man’s attention. Nothing.

“Uh, excuse me?”

No response.

Judy rolled her eyes; even after having lived here for seven years, she was still shocked at how easily she blended into the background in such a big city. Pulling out her badge, she thrust it as far into his line of sight as her arm would allow without appearing to struggle.

“Hello, sir. I’m Officer Hopps, ZPD. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Brown eyes blinking at the strong voice, the antelope looked up from the counter, his head swiveling to see where the voice had come from.

Her exasperated, “Down here!”, finally brought his attention to her.

“Oh!”, came a smoke-gruff voice, “Sorry, lady. I didn’t see you down there; can I help you with something? Do you need an item off the higher shelves?”

Judy raised an eyebrow, turned her badge to face her and make sure it wasn’t upside down before turning it back to him.

“No, I’m not a customer, but maybe you can still help me? Have you ever sold this style of popsicle?”

The animal gave another few blinks at her badge, not bothered by her abrupt tone, before leaning forward and humming in thought as he studied the grainy street-cam image the bunny held up in her other paw. Not wanting to rush his examination, Judy strained to keep her arm raised at the awkward angle as he continued to him-and-haw before finally going, “Can’t say that I have, no. I have paw-shaped cookies, if that would work.”

The thick stench of cigarette smoke was stronger now, with him so close, and the bunny gratefully stepped back once she was able to retract her arm. Trying not to breath too deeply without making it obvious, Judy opened her mouth slightly so as to keep her nose from twitching in irritation. All that accomplished was bringing the taste to her mouth, subconsciously feeling her tongue become thick with ash.

Though disappointment ran through her at his answer, Judy answered as politely as she could, “Thank you, but I really just need to find the establishment that sell these. You wouldn’t happen to know a place around here that I can try?” hope tinted her voice, completely forgetting her earlier irritation as her violet eyes widened slightly at the possibility.

But the antelope was already shaking his head in the negative, long, ivory horns coming dangerously close to clipping Judy’s erect ears, “Never seen ‘em before in my life, darlin. Sorry I can’t be of more help”.

With how difficult it was to gain his attention in the first place, Judy didn’t doubt that this mammal payed much thought to his surroundings anyway, “It’s no problem, sir. Thank you for your time.”

Carefully slipping the photograph back into her pocket, she gave one last nod to the cashier before making her way out, door bells jingling as she left.

***

_Well, Jude_ , she thought to herself as she left yet another street shop and began walking down the block, _you knew this case wasn’t going to be a walk in the carrot patch when you fought Bogo on it, so don’t go feeling sorry for yourself because you haven’t been able to find where Mr. Otterton purchased the popsicle within the first couple hours of trying. Besides, it’s only noon. And, hey, there are still another good five blocks of shops around here you haven’t checked out yet. Think of his pups. You can do this._

Jolting out of her inner pep talk, Judy almost tripped over her own two feet as she tried to back track, realizing she was passing right by an ice cream parlour.

Looking up and up at the pinkish building, the rabbit officer let out another down trodden sigh. There was very little chance that going into _Jumbeaux’s Ice Cream Parlour_ would actually lead anywhere productful on her case. After all, this was a Café run by elephants, meant for larger mammals. But the go-getter bunny in her, would never let her do a less then thorough job.

That annoying jingle that every store in the city seemed to own rang overhead, grating on her sensitive ears and fraying her nerves. The place was fairly busy, with smatterings of mammals seated at the retro style tables. She could see the owner working at the counter and an employee scooping out ice-cream farther back, both sporting pink pin-strip shirts and white Soda Jerk hats.

Not wanting to wait in the line-up and waste more of the day, Judy started immediately toward the occurring Class Three Health Code Violation in the back; _looks like I can hit two birds with one stone_.

The grey rabbit watched in tactfully disguised disgust as the young elephant employee dug a large scoop of strawberry ice cream out of a tub with his bare trunk. She had to turn away as she saw him suck up a couple fist-fulls of peanuts into his nose before blowing them out on top on the ice cream bowl.

_Note to self: never bring Robin here._

As the monstrosity was handed off to the happy customer, Judy knew that she would eventually have to speak with the owner concerning this alarming development but for the time being, she could get what she needed for the employee.

Just as she opened her mouth, however, the owner’s raised voice had her ears perked before her head even completed the tern in his direction, “So, hit the road!”

Taken aback at the sudden abrasiveness in the old elephants demeaner, Judy quickly jogged around the counter to the front of the store, in the unlikely case she was needed.

She heard the smooth, low voice before she saw the mammal who responded, “I’m not looking for any trouble either, sir. I simply want to buy a Jumbo Pop, for my little boy. You want the red or the blue, pal?”

Rounding the corner, Judy was brought up short at the sight of a handsome red fox, a few years older than her, wearing a tacky Pawaiian shirt. His brilliant green eyes flicked to her as she came into view, holding eye contact for less than a second before he was once again focused on the elephant in front of him.

Judy didn’t even realize she was staring until Jumbeaux’s irritated tone had her ears swiveling, “Come on kid, back up! What? There aren’t any fox ice cream joints in your part of town?”

The bunny officer barely had time to notice that the red fox wasn’t alone, and in fact had a child with him, before her fists were curling in supressed anger at the _pompous, ignorant, son of a rotten tomato!_

“No, no. There are, there are”, the tod was saying as she tried to keep a level head, “It’s just, my boy? This goofy little stinker, he loves all things elephant. Wants to be one when he grows up.”

The kit, who Judy can finally make out as a Fennec fox - _the smallest of the fox species_ her research reminds her – pulls up his grey onesie hood so that his huge ears get hidden beneath elephant ones, giving a happy _toot_ to the fabric trunk.

“ _Isn’t that adorable?_ ” his father asks at the same time that the mother rabbit’s heart is collecting into a melted puddle of goo on the floor by her feet, getting flashbacks of her Robin at that age.

An _“awwwww”_ caught in her throat, Judy watches as the kit toddles over to his dad and rests against his legs, “Who the heck am I to crush his little dreams, huh? Right?”

Jumbeaux, whom Judy had forgotten was present, was not amused, “Look, fox”, grabbing a sign to indicate to with his trunk, he places it on the counter in front of the red fox, “You probably can’t read, but the sign says ‘we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’! So beat it!”.

Judy couldn’t keep her mouth from dropping just the slightest bit at the blatantly rude and speciest remarks. Of course, as a single rabbit mother raising an adopted fox kit she came across mammals who felt much the same all the time, but most would try to be more subtle in how they asked them to get the hell out. She honestly still wasn’t sure which type she preferred to deal with but it never failed to take her by surprise how many mammals didn’t care how spiciest they sounded.

By this point, her simmering blood was brought to a broil and began to pound in her ear drums.

The elderly female elephant standing in line behind them stepped forward, not caring about the altercation, “You’re holding up the line!”

As the kit began to cry, Judy exploded.

“Uh, excuse me!”, her annoyed voice brought Jumbeaux’s attention to her for the first time, his trunk curling and uncurling in his own irritation at the situation.

Despite wanting nothing more than to rip into this old pachyderm, Judy knew that he was legally within his rights to refuse service as a private business owner. Though Zootopia had laws against specism, even within private businesses, to get into the logistics with a mammal so set in his ways would just end up causing a bigger argument. She had to fight smarter, not harder.

“It’s alright officer, I’m handling the situation. But thank you”, the sarcasm and lack of respect was more than underlying the short address, but Judy chose to ignore it. Today, the fight was for foxes. She could worry about the lack of respect for her career as a rabbit officer another day.

“Actually!” she raised her voice to bring his eyes back to her when the elephant had begun to turn back to the father/son duo, “I wanted to talk with you concerning something else”.

Amethyst eyes darting quickly around the shop to make sure mammals were paying attention, she continued in a voice slightly higher than necessary, “Are your customers aware they are getting snot and mucus with their Cookies and Crème?”

The negative reaction to this unexpected statement was immediate. Most noticeably was a young elephant couple along the side wall actually sharing a scoop of Cookies and Crème. The male, who had just taken a bite of his ice cream, blew it out of his trunk in shock and completely spraying his equally surprised partner.

Turning back to Judy from the scene, where the couple was currently scurrying for napkins, Jumbeaux’s forehead furrowed in confusion, creating even more wrinkles in his think skin.

Annoyance still lacing his tone – Judy wondered if he ever wasn’t annoyed – the owner questioned, “What are you _talking_ about?”

“Well”, she started in a too innocent demeaner, meekly sliding forward to stand beside the red fox who was now staring at her, she tried to appear remorseful, “I don’t want to cause you any trouble but I believe scooping ice cream with an ungloved trunk is a Class Three Health Code Violation”.

In the background, she could clearly see the other worker freeze with a scoop of ice cream in said ungloved trunk, eyes blowing wide at the accusation. Unceremoniously dropping it back into the freezer, he wiped off the excess ice cream onto his apron as the owner turned to witness the Health Violation in action.

Not giving the owner a chance to defend himself, Judy barrelled on, “Which is _kind of_ a big deal” she watched intently to make sure she had Jumbeaux were she wanted him, “Of course, I _could_ let you off with a warning if you were to glove those trunks and, I don’t know, finish selling this nice dad and his son a-” she paused, realizing she didn’t know what it was they were trying to buy.

Turning to the green-eyed fox, she gently touched him arm, whispering in his direction, “What was it?”.

“A Jumbo Pop, please”, he answered for her.

“A Jumbo Pop”, she repeated to Jumbeaux, followed by a small toot from the kit.

Signing in resigned annoyance, the old elephant’s blue eyes looked to the ceiling in a ‘why me?’ fashion, before he relented, “Fifteen dollars”.

Smiling at Jumbeaux more pleasantly then Judy thought he deserved, the fox said gratefully, “Thank you so much!” before turning to her with that same smile, “Thank you” and began to reach into his back pocket.

Judy took this moment to lean slightly forward and peer at the fennec kit with a buck tooth smile, giving a little wave. His grey and purple onesie really was one of the cutest things she’d ever seen and would have made sure to ask the tod where he found it to buy one for Robin if her own kit hadn’t long out grown the ‘cutesy costume’ phase, as he liked to call it. The rabbit didn’t know as much about fennec foxes as she did about their red counterparts but their large ears, similar to her own bunny ones, had always interested her. She knew that they were the smallest of the fox species, only measuring about half the height of an adult rabbit when fully grown, though she wasn’t sure at what age they stopped growing.

So focused on the kits round, hazel eyes, Judy missed the tod’s frantic searching until he said to himself, “Oh, no! Are you kidding me? I don’t have my wallet”, looking back to her, he continues helplessly, “I’d lose my head if it weren’t attached to my neck, that’s the truth”.

She smiled understandably, knowing a handful of her own siblings back home that always seemed to be misplacing their phone or keys, and watched as he knelt to talk to his son, “Oh, boy. I’m sorry, pal. Got to be about the worst birthday ever. Please don’t be mad at me!”

He gave him a quick kiss to the snout before grabbing his paw to lead him back outside, going to her in passing, “Thanks, anyway”.

As Judy watched the fennec kit being walked away, yet still looking back to point at his birthday treat and not understanding why he couldn’t have it, her heart twisted. She felt a lump starting to crawl into her throat as hazel eyes melted to robin egg blue and a little brown gloved paw pointed to the toy police car he wanted for Christmas that the single rabbit mother couldn’t afford, only being two years into her career as a beat cop.

She blinked hard, once, then twice, to clear the scene away. Trying to imperceptibly clear her throat, Judy straightened her shoulders, and pulled out her wallet to count out the fifteen dollars.

Leaping to grab the lip of the clear counter, she slapped the bills down, “The red one, please”.

***

Waving goodbye to the tod and his kit through the glass wall of the ice cream parlour, Judy watched them until they disappeared out of sight before turning back to the slightly more anxious owner.

“I though you said you’d leave us with a warning if I sold the fox the Jumbo Pop”.

The rabbit rolled her amethyst eyes, passed the point of fed-up, “Yes, and make sure those trunks are gloved. But that’s not why I’m still here”, reaching into her back pocket to pull out the enhanced street-cam photo for the dozenth time, Judy places it on the counter where she had just placed her money a minute ago, “Do you, or have you ever, sold this style of popsicle?”

Wide shoulders dropping back to their relaxed state, bored ice-blue eyes flicked over the picture, “All of our products are made for large mammals. We’ve never sold anything smaller than twenty times that size”.

Judy’s ears twitched, but she refused to let them lower in disappointment again, “You wouldn’t happen to know of any place that does, would you?”

“Sorry, rabbit. If that’s all, I do have the costumers you haven’t scared off to attend to and a line-up is forming”.

Taking her que to leave before he kicked her out, Judy slid the photo toward her across the counter and off the side. Jamming the photo away, the only sign of frustration she allowed to physically manifest, she marched out of the glass door, bell jingling in her wake.

***

Running a paw lightly over Robin’s head and back between his ears, Judy stared at her son as he breathed peacefully in sleep. She wanted nothing more in this world than to protect him from all the bad things that she knew happened – were happening – around the world and in this great city. But she also knew that she didn’t hold that power; she wouldn’t always be there to protect her little kit from speciest jerks and her heart ached at the thought of Robin in the position of the fennec kit today.

Not wanting to linger long and risk waking him, the rabbit made sure the kit was properly tucked in and that the thick blanket wasn’t covering his snout, before stepping lightly to the door. Easing the wood closed until only the slightest of cracks remained, Judy made her way to her own bedroom, the condo already dark and quiet with the night.

An exhausted sigh left her as Judy let herself flop back into her wooden desk chair, Mr. Otterton’s case file spread out before her. Cell phone thrown haphazardly to the side, she made sure the ringer was muted, not feeling up to talking with her parents tonight, before letting her head thump forward onto the tabletop with a groan.

The grey rabbit had spent the entire day walking up and down the streets, in and out of shops, and asking the same questions over and over only to receive the same answer.

Her biggest lead was a bust. _And I_ really _thought that this would at least take me in a new direction; one that another officer might not have seen_. She groaned again, this time in despair rather than exhaustion.

_Now I have to begin crossing off potential leads that Mrs. Otterton provided, which is likely to eat up another couple days at least._ She thought cynically, _and another couple animals gone missing._

She sat up abruptly, giving her head a good shake before focusing blurry vision on Mr. Otterton’s weekly routine and the list of frequented establishments as provided by his wife.

From what she could see, the missing otter would begin everyday by heading down to his shop, which he and his family lived above, and take care of all the plants before opening up the store and finishing any orders that had come in for that day.

Other weekly activities usually occurred on specific days of the week, such as his sons’ soccer practice, and were neatly ordered in order of occurrence by Mrs. Otterton.

Shifting her notes to the side for a moment, Judy flipped open the slim case folder to remind herself of the day Mr. Otterton had gone missing.

_Date mammal went missing: Wednesday, May 6, 2017_

Closing the file again, Judy ran down the list of the otter’s regular Wednesday activities, skimming the side with her carrot pen as she went.

_Let’s see, he’d head down to the shop around 7:30 in the morning, opening the doors at 9:00. They would stay open until 5:00, but Mrs. Otterton would always close on Wednesday because he headed out to his 5 p.m. yoga class by 4:30. That lasted until 6:00, where from Mr. Otterton would pass by his exotic plant supplier to restock the shops inventory. Brining him back home no later than 7:30 where he would stay for the rest of the night._

Turning back a few pages, Judy confirmed what she remembered from her conversation with the distraught wife. Mr. Otterton had kept to his regular routine on the day he disappeared, not acting any different than normal. He had left for his yoga class right at 4:30 and Mrs. Otterton didn’t suspect anything wrong until it hit 8 o’clock and his phone continued to go to voicemail.

Nodding to herself, Judy shifted all her papers and notes into a neat pile on the side of her desk and stood up, stretching her arms and ears up to the ceiling to loosen her stiff muscles, toes curling.

With a large yawn flashing her buck teeth, Judy lowered her heels back to the ground and reached over to flick off her desk lamp. Navigating her way around furniture to climb into bed, the bunny closed her eyes on the unproductive day.

She had a yoga instructor to speak to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your Comments and Kudos mean the world to me!  
> See you amazing readers next time.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy never meets Nick on that fateful day at Jumbeaux’s ice-cream parlor. In fact, she doesn’t meet him until much later. However, her life still ended up getting turned upside down. It seems Nick isn’t the only fox who managed to get into her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello wonderful readers!  
> I would like to give a shout out to CombatEngineer for their adorable piece of fan art: https://www.dropbox.com/s/99hsztbpt0aj65r/1.png?dl=0  
> Your guys love and support honestly make my day and your fan art is the cherry on top!  
> Disclaimer: Zootopia and all of its characters belong to Disney  
> This fanwork and all of my OC's belong to me

The Mystic Springs Oasis was a wealth of knowledge, Judy soon found out. After hurrying Robin into the car that morning beside Little Judy, and waving off Kevin as he began the drive to school, the grey rabbit had made quick work to the nearest subway entrance.

The young rabbit mother had visited the Oasis on a handful of occasions since moving to Zootopia. Not as a patron, mind you, she wasn’t as comfortable with nudity as one might expect from growing up with a few hundred siblings. Rather, she had been radioed over to oversee the rare protests that would crop up from the more conservative mammals in the area. Nothing ever got violent, and never consisted of more than five or six mammals at a time, but it was the Police Department’s job to keep the peace and the shouts, as the desk manager put it, “totally disrupted the flow of energy”.

Pushing open the wooden doors, Judy found Yax as she suspected: loudly meditating behind the front desk. Being the general point of contact between the police for the Oasis, the rabbit already knew she had to lead the conversation when dealing with the zen yak. He was surprisingly very observant for a mammal that usually had his eyes closed.

Already pulling out the street camera photo of Mr. Otterton, along with the enhanced photo of the popsicle, Judy stood a few paces back from the desk to allow her to see the yak before speaking.

“Hello!”, she gave a good bellow, not wanting to spend precious time trying to break his meditation.

Snorting at the sudden voice, Yax jerked back in surprise, ever present flies buzzing louder at the disturbance. The black halo of flies quickly settled back around the yak, becoming background noise once again, as his hooves came up to move his bangs to either side of his field of vision.

Giving a cheeky smile, the bunny hopped slightly on the balls of her feet while waving a paw, “Hi, Yax! It’s good to see you again.”

A smile of recognition quickly spread on his face, “Officer Bunny! How are you doing?”

“Ah”, Judy began, put off by the name but not to be side tracked, “I’m good. I actually had a couple questions for you, if you have a moment?”

“No problem, I was just finishing up my solo morning mediation anyway. Did you finally decide to become a member of the Mystic Springs? We have a great benefits program. The yoga class just started, if you want a free trial run. I think you’ll find it very freeing!”

“No, no. That’s very kind of you but I’m on the clock”, Judy put her empty hand out placatingly, not wanting to seem rude.

Before Yax could begin to list the other activities they offered, the rabbit quickly slid the two photographs onto the desk where the yak could easily reach them.

“I’m actually here about Emmet Otterton, he’s been reported missing for eleven days now. His wife told me that he visited the Oasis every Wednesday”, pointing to the original street camera image, she went on, “this is where he was last seen, Wednesday evening. Can you confirm that he visited that day?”

Delicately lifting the photo to scrutinize it closer, the yak gave out a slight chuckle, “Ya, good old Emmet”, his brow furrowed, looking up at her in slight concern, “I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks; I didn’t realize he was missing. He’s been coming to the yoga class here for thirteen years”.

“So, he was here?” Judy questioned again.

Pointing at the photo, Yax nodded, “For sure, this is what he was wearing when he left. The corduroy slacks were new and would you look at that paisley tie? Sweet windsor knot!”

The bunny nodded along with the information, flipping to a new page in her notepad to mark it all down. Trying not to get her hopes up, she gestured to the second photo, “Do you recognize the popsicle he was eating? Or happen to know where he could have purchased it from?”

Humming in thought, he pushed some more hair out of his eyes as he leaned forward, “No clue, Officer Bunny, sorry. I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that.”

Trying not to deflate, Judy shook her head, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it”, taking back both photos to slip into her pocket, she charged ahead, “Did Mr. Otterton mention where he was going after his yoga class?”

“No, I’m not sure where Emmet was going either”, slumping back in his spot, Yax looked downtrodden at the lack of information he could provide, “I really wish I could be of more help. All I know is that he left in some big ol’ white car with silver trim”, then, mumbling to himself, “needed a tune up; third cylinder wasn’t firing.”

Judy’s amethyst eyes widened at her luck, scribbling as fast as she could.

Gaze flitting up from her pad, the rabbit officer dared to ask, “You didn’t happen to catch the licence plate, did you?”

Looking down at Judy in surprise, Yax nodded in affirmative and the rabbit officer praised every god she could think of, writing as he continued, “Ya, it was 29THD03.”

No longer paying attention to the bunny, the brown yak scratched his chin in thought and questioned, “Maybe I should take you back to his yoga instructor, Nangi, she might know more.”

But the rabbit was already shaking her head, the information she received was more than enough to go on. It was a downright miracle that Yax remembered one number of the licence plate, let alone the whole thing!

“That won’t be necessary, Yax, but thank you so much for your time. This has been very helpful”, Judy flashed her buck teeth in a smile, snapping her notepad closed.

Surprised at her happy tone, the yak chuckled lightly again, temporarily scattering the ever-buzzing flies, “No worries, Officer Bunny. I hope you find Emmet!”

Waving a goodbye, Judy left with a hop in her step. If she could find out who the car was registered too, she may find a witness to what happened, or even a clue to who took him.

The wooden door closing behind her a she left the Oasis, Judy’s long ears swivelled backward to just make out the sound of Yax’s farewell, “Come back for the free trail anytime! I can even do a guided meditation!”

***

Judy had made her way to her cubicle at a light jog, fingers crossed that she didn’t cross paths with Bogo until she had more to go on. Being close to midday, the precinct was fairly empty, most officers out working the other missing mammal cases or on their regular beat.

Quickly logging onto the system, the rabbit navigated to where she could enter the licence plate. Gnawing on her bottom lip as she watched the loading circle spin, her foot began to thump anxiously as the time seemed to drag on. Judy was so on edge, ears erect as she listened for the chief’s lumbering footfalls, she almost fell out of her swivel chair when the licence plate information screen popped up.

Twisting to sit more comfortably in her seat, she grabbed a hold of the desk lip to drag herself closer to the computer screen. Eyes glued in front of her, the rabbit scrolled to down to the name of the car’s registration.

_Tundra Town Limo Service._

Judy’s breath caught, her chest suddenly feeling tight. She read the words again, and then once more, but they failed to change. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tried to supress a groan. A chair squeaked from across the room, and her eyes shot open. Logging off and shutting down her computer at record speed, the bunny cop jumped from her seat and began to speed walk out of the cubicle area and toward the front doors.

Making a quick turn into the hallway, Judy ran into a wall that turned out to be her bosses leg. Scrambling backward, she raised her head to see an unimpressed look on Bogo’s face, eyebrow raised in silent demand.

“Hopps.”

“Uh, hello, chief.”

Facial expression unchanging, the buffalo remained stoic.

Trying not to seem out of sorts, Judy went to fill the awkward silence, “I just popped by to check-”

She was cut off from her explanation by a loud snort, “I don’t care Hopps, let me know when there is a break in the case.”

“Of course, sir!”, she resisted the inane urge to salute him.

Shaking his head at her, Bogo gave another snort before walking around her and continuing down the hallway she had just come from.

Turing away from watching his departure, Judy tried to slow her racing heart back to the normal resting rate. No longer caring who saw, the bunny began a full sprint out of the precinct and didn’t stop until she was a block away.

Pulling out her cell phone, pulled up her contacts to speed dial a number she knew well, paw tapping the screen a bit harder than necessary.

She picked up on the first ring.

“Judy! It’s been so long, what’s up?” came Fru Fru’s high pitched voice on the other line.

The bunny felt some of the tension leave her shoulders at the sound of her best friend’s voice, it really had been a while since she just got to relax and catch up with the small shrew, “Oh, you know, business as usual. I really wish this was a social call, Fru, but something’s come up in the case I’m working on and I really need to speak with your dad.”

Judy could hear the surprise in her voice when she answered, “Daddy? Why, what’s going on? The cops don’t have anything on him, do they?”

“No, not really”, the bunny tried to easy her friend’s worry, “but-”

“What do you mean “not really”?!”

“No! I mean, no! They don’t have anything Fru, you know I’d tell you if they did. Something came up on a case that I think your dad can help me on, that’s all.”

“Oh!”, Fru giggled on the other end, “Why didn’t you just say so! So, do you want me to get daddy on the phone?”

“Actually, I was hoping I could speak with him in person. Is he free now? I’d like to discuss this as soon as possible”, Judy tried not to let her desperation through in her voice.

Fru Fru was silent for a moment as she thought and Judy clenched her phone closer to her ear in anticipation when finally, “Nope, I don’t think he has anything planned until later on tonight. You know daddy and his friends like to hold all those business meetings at the oddest hours. I’ll let him know you’re coming to visit; he’ll be so happy to see you!”

“Thanks, Fru! You’re the greatest. We can plan a play date with the kits while I’m there; I haven’t got to see you lately with the recent craziness at work.”

The shrew squeaked with excitement, “Yes! We need to plan something. Text me when you get to Tundra Town station, I’ll have Kevin come pick you up. Kisses!”

Before Judy had a chance to argue, Fru had hung up and the bunny was left listening to a dial tone.

Rolling her eyes in fond exasperation, she oriented herself before heading to the closest subway street entrance. Her call with Fru Fru had done wonders to calm her nerves but the closer she came to Tundra Town station, cold air fogging the train windows as it left the tunnel, the more she fidgeted in anxiety.

***

“Thanks, Kevin”, Judy said over her shoulder to the towering polar bear who was currently holding open the door to Mr. Big’s office.

Giving her a silent smile, he nodded at her before leaving the room to guard the door from the outside.

She was left alone in the cozy sitting room on the main floor of the Big Mansion, fire already crackling in the hearth. Judy made herself comfortable in her favourite reading chair, right in front of the fire place. The Big Estate was practically a second home for Robin and her; with Robin and Little Judy, as well as their mothers, being best friends, they spent quite a bit of their free time lounging about the place. Fru Fru and her could gossip for hours in this very sitting room, sipping on espresso and munching on biscotti, while Robin and Ju Ju would play a board game at their feet or take over the whole mansion to play a massive game of hide and seek.

Between work and school, not to mention the long commute, the mother/son duo only got to visit her hometown of Bunnyburrow once every couple months. And, while it would always hold that special place in her heart, the Big Estate had wormed itself into its own unique place of comfort, safety, and home.

Judy was brought out of her internal musings as a side door opened, revealing Mr. Big being carried in by his personal guard, Koslov.

Judy smiled slightly at him, standing up to properly greet him.

“Hi, Mr. Big”, Judy said as she slightly lifted on her toes, despite Koslov lowering him down to her height, to kiss both his cheeks.

Arms raising to gesture at the bunny in affection, he gave her an open smile, “Judy, my child! It is so good to see you; please, sit, sit!”

Judy took up her seat again as Koslov sat in the chair opposite her, placing Mr. Big on the coffee table between them.

“Would you like anything to eat, drink?”, Mr. Big offered.

“Oh, no thank you. I really just need to speak with you about the case I’m working on.”

“Of course, child. We will talk as we eat”, turning to Koslov to give him a nod, the grim faced polar bear pulled out a cell phone from his suit jacket pocket, tapping out a message.

“Really, Mr. Big, I’m fine. I’m just going to grab something to eat when I get back to City Center.”

But Mr. Big was already shaking his head, “Nonsense, Judy, you are family. And besides, the food is already on it’s way.”

Knowing better than to continue the futile argument, the rabbit just made a noise of agreement and let the matter drop.

“So”, the shrew began, folding his hands in front of himself, “what is this police case that my Fru Fru was telling me about?”

Face turning more serious, Judy scooted closer to him on her chair, “I’m sure you’ve heard about all the disappearances on the news”, she began, watching for his nod of understanding before pulling out the street camera photos and turning the original image over for the shrew to see, “I recently took on the case of Emmet Otterton and, from what I’ve found so far, it looks like he was last known to be in one of your limos.”

Now, Judy always knew that Mr. Big was not an innocent mammal, she would have to be a complete idiot not to have noticed something off. But she also knew that the shrew mob boss was not in the habit of hurting innocent mammals, either. And, while she could always be wrong, the rabbit officer was as certain as she ever was about anything that this otter was an innocent mammal.

“Ah”, Mr. Big began, “yes, Otterton. He’s our florist. You know how much Fru likes her flowers; he provided the plants for our greenhouse and will come by every few months to help with the upkeep.”

Despite the fact that Judy could often be found at the Big Estate, it didn’t surprise her that she never saw the otter there, or even knew he was employed by the Big’s. Mr. Big had an enormous network of mammals working for him, many never coming in direct contact with Mr. Big at all. The shrew family’s immediate circle of polar bear guards were really the only mammals of his circle that Judy and Robin ever met, other than Mr. Big’s personal drivers and wait staff.

The rabbit cop also knew that this was for the best, on both sides. There was a silent understanding between them: Mr. Big didn’t do anything incriminating while she or Robin was present, didn’t even hint at it, and Judy didn’t dig for information. A ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, if you will. The bunny’s by-the-book personality would have once been appalled at her turning a blind eye to what was going on around her. That was before Robin came into the picture; before his well-being was at stake because of her lack of resources as an overdrawn, single mother.

“Was he coming by to work on the greenhouse that night?”

“No”, he shook his head, “he called asking to meet with me, said he had something important he wanted to discuss. That’s why I sent the car to pick him up.”

Judy’s brow furrowed in thought, “What did he want to discuss that was so important? It was pretty late, he should have been on his way home for dinner.”

Mr. Big shrugged helplessly, “I wouldn’t know, he never arrived.”

“Never arrived!” she exclaimed, her mind racing with the new information, “But he was in one of your cars, how could he not have arrived?”

The shrew sighed, shaking his head in sadness, “We are unsure ourselves. The driver showed up that night in a panic, scared half to death. It took us a while to get anything he said to make sense. He told me that they hadn’t even reached the Tundra Town line when Otterton started to rip up the car, acting completely out of his mind, before finally getting the door open and taking off.”

Judy was rocked slightly with the shock of this revelation, not at all what she was expecting, but the officer in her was skeptical, “You mean, the driver claimed a sweet little otter just attacked him? With no provocation and then disappeared for days on end? No disrespect to you Mr. Big, but are you sure this driver can be trusted?”

Both of the shrews large, bushy eyebrows rose so that Judy was left looking into his clear blue eyes, “The driver was Manchas.”

Judy’s own eyes widened in alarm, sucking in a harsh breath, “Mr. Manchas? That’s why he didn’t pick up Robin for the last couple weeks? I thought he was on vacation!”

“The incident shook him up bad; Otterton managed to get a good scratch in before he took off. I told him to stay home until he felt back to normal.”

Still in a state of shock, she questioned, “Why didn’t you report any of this to the police?”

But as soon as she said it, she knew the answer. Mr. Big indulged her anyway, “My dear, we knew his wife would already have reported him missing by that night. Nothing we knew could really help to further that search”, he leaned forward slightly, speaking in an undertone, “And, you know why I can’t draw attention to myself.”

Judy swallowed thickly but nodded her understanding. She chose this path, she would deal with the consequences.

Clearing her throat to rid it of the lump that had formed there, she set down the second photo and reached for her notepad. Flipping to the last page, the one containing the licence plate number, Judy began to move forward, “Would I be able to check out the limo he was in? The licence plate is ‘29THD03’. I’ll see if I can talk to Manchas too, but I’d still like to do a sweep.”

“Of course, child, whatever I can do to help. Otterton was always kind to us, this is the least I can do. Manchas lives in the rainforest district, as I’m sure you remember. I’ll have someone give you his address.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Big. I’m really hopeful this will turn something out-” but the shrew wasn’t listening. His eye had caught on the bright red from the enhanced street camera image and his bushy eyebrows furrowed even further down his face than usual.

“Judy, what is this?” he interrupted.

The bunny’s jaw snapped shut with a click and she blinked a couple times before focusing on what Mr. big was talking about, “Oh, that was the last known sighting we had of Mr. Otterton. He had this popsicle in the picture with him; I was hoping it could lead me to a clue as to where he could have gone. I never ended up finding the place he bought it from but it doesn’t really matter now; the photo’s time stamp is a few hours before you picked him up, and I just confirmed this morning that he was at a yoga class between then.”

Despite the explanation, the shrew still only gave a noncommittal hum before suddenly looking up at her, “I have enjoyed our talk child, but I must go now. Business, I’m afraid.”

When Judy made to get up, Mr. Big raised a hand to stop her, “I insist you stay for lunch, the food will be brought in any minute now”, when it looked like she was going to argue, he continued, “And my Fru is simply dying to see you again, I’ll be sure to let her know that we’ve finished our conversation.”

And he was gone, leaving Judy sitting alone in the spacious sitting room once again.

***

Once the heavy oak door sealed shut behind them, Mr. Big began pulling out one of his favoured cigars from inside his suit jacket, lighting it and taking a long drag as the two made their way to his office.

Blowing out smoke, the mob boss intoned simply, “Find Wilde.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your Kudos and Comments!  
> See you lovely readers next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think; your comments give me motivation. I'm going to try and keep to a schedule of at least one post a week (but life doesn't usually give a crap about my schedule's, so we'll see what happens).


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